Banned Hobby
by TypicalRice
Summary: There is a secret within the Planeptune Tower. A secret between Neptune and Histoire.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: First time writing a fanfic.**

It was currently night closing in on bedtime, there were five girls in the living room, the Planeptune siblings, Uzume and adult Neptune were sitting on the floor playing a game together, and on the opposite side of the room,Histoire was seemingly busy looking at a holographic screen. She was looking at the schedule for the next day.

There was also Croire, however she was still stuck in adult Neptune's notebook that adult Neptune called her Nep-note. The book itself was on the couch behind the four girls.

Croire had finally chosen to relax being fully aware that she could not escape anytime soon. As for Umio, the one person ( _or fish_ ) that was missing, he had left earlier that day for a business trip around gamindustri to see how well the monsters from zero dimension were fitting in.

It had been almost a month since Uzume's return from the long trip she had with adult Neptune and Umio. Uzume's new room had also just finished being built and everyone went to check it out after dinner. The room was fully furnished and even had some random dolls laid out for decoration. The bed was also a queen sized bed. Uzume found it unnecessary, but it was what it was.

While the four girls were playing a 4 player co-op game, Uzume was still thinking about her new room.

" _Man, the room is really cool, a lot more spacious than I expected."_

" _Of course it is! Can't have a CPU sleeping in some tiny room that looks like something a college student rents!"_ Neptune excitedly explains.

" _Yeah! But... Are you sure you don't want to share our room? It used to yours too…"_ Nepgear asked, a little disappointed that Uzume was no longer going to sleep with them.

" _Nah, it's cool. Even if I am CPU like you, the current CPU governing is Neptsy and you Gearsy, as the candidate. I am more of an employee."_

Uzume's room had been decided after her return as she requested to sleep in a different room, much to the sibling's discontent.

Neptune pouted, _"Mmm… You don't have to be so modest you know, people still love you and considers you a CPU."_

" _Governing you say… If only she would."_ Histoire joined in on the conversation. Floating towards the group.

" _Histy… People still love me! And besides, with Uzume with us, we've been going on more quests!"_ If Neptune could pout any harder, she most certainly would. Instead she paused the game, put down her controller, stood up and began flapping her arms to express her annoyance further.

" _Yes, it is true and we do have more shares now. But that doesn't mean that, that is all you need to do."_

" _But Histoire, you were the one that decided to handle all the paperwork after Neptune's 'problems'..."_ Nepgear interjected. Neptune could be seen flinching in pain from that remark.

Laughing a little nervously, Uzume tried to make a positive spin on the conversation.

" _Now, now. It's all true but hey, from all the stories you've told me, you've both worked hard when it really mattered."_

" _Awww, shucks, now I'm getting embarrassed."_ Neptune said, slightly blushing and rubbing the back of her head.

Histoire sighed before coughing to regain the attention of the 3 CPUs.

" _Anyway, it is about time you all go to sleep, would you like to stay for the night?"_ Histoire turned towards adult Neptune as she asked.

With the game being paused, adult Neptune was currently talking to Croire. Adult Neptune had been sleeping in a nearby hotel until now. However, with how late it was, Histoire decided to let her sleep in the basilicom for the night.

" _Oh! Sure thing. Thanks Histy!"_

With that, the five split. Neptune turned the console off and left with Nepgear to get ready to sleep. Histoire guided the adult Neptune to a guest room and Uzume left to rearrange her new room more to her liking.

* * *

A few minutes later, Uzume was in the hallway with several bags of items either to throw away. While walking down, she found a fairly large unfamiliar bookshelf, until now she didn't think much of it since it was at a part of the hallway that she didn't really go to. Even back when she was the CPU governing, the area was a dead end with several storage rooms. On top of that, up until now, she was sleeping on a futon in the sibling's room, and never got to chance to look at the shelf closely but now that she got a room and it happened to be past the shelf, it piqued her interest.

Stopping, Uzume curiously inspected the shelf. She did not remember a bookshelf ever being in the hallway ( _Not that could remember much of this part of the hallway_ ), let alone one this big. It was a shelf about 3 meters wide and almost 2 and a half meters tall, nearly touching the ceiling. Furthermore, there was an oddly large gap between the shelf and the wall. she peeked behind it, suspicious of the gap.

It was at this moment, her eyes widened in surprise. It was only in the form of a silhouette, but there was something large but thin sticking out from the wall. The silhouette was nearly as tall as the bookshelf.

Uzume immediately dashed to find anyone, but more specifically Histoire, Neptune or Nepgear. Soon after, she arrived at Histoires' room. She swung the door open, and found Histoire typing something down onto a holographic keyboard before she quickly turned it off as she turned towards the doorway.

" _Yes Uzume? Do you need something?"_

" _Yeah, I just found something weird behind the large bookshelf down the hallway."_

" _Something weird behind the bookshelf? Ah, you must be talking about the storage room that I have sealed up."_

" _Storage room? Why would that need to be sealed up? Not to mention the doorway seemed pretty big for a storage room."_ Uzume couldn't help but eye Histoire suspiciously.

" _No, it is just an old storage room with a lot of old equipment. I sealed it up after Neptune was born, since there were some items that would be a bit too dangerous for Neptune to be walking around with."_

" _Okay… well I'm going to go now and throw out these things."_ Uzume slowly backed out of the room, suspicion still evident in her eyes. Closing the door, she then walked over to find Neptune.

Thinking to herself _"From all my time with Neptsy, she didn't exactly seem like one to careless walk around with a dangerous item. Sure she was energetic, but not careless. Not to mention that still doesn't answer why the door is so large…"_

Opening the door, she found Neptune and nepgear in their pyjamas and were just about ready to settle into their beds.

" _Huh? Need something Uzume?"_ Neptune turned around from the bed looking at Uzume while Nepgear got off the ladder leading to the top bunk, to turn towards her as well.

" _Yeah, I found what looked like a door behind a bookshelf, I asked Histoire about it, but she said it was just an old storage room that was sealed up to stop Neptsy from getting in. But that sounded a little suspicious to me."_

" _Oh~ that door…"_ There was a moment of pause _"Yeah, there are some things in there that should left alone."_

" _Neptune…? What do you mean left alone? Is it really something that dangerous?"_

" _Well, they certainly could cause a big problem if they are in the hands of some bad guy."_

Both Nepgear and Uzume could only look at each other expressing both confusion and suspicion. The door was something Nepgear didn't know about until just now. They both nodded to each other, signalling to meet up later.

" _Well, if Neptsy says it's true, then I guess Histoire was telling the truth. Well, I'll go throw these out and then go back to my room to sleep. Goodnight Neptsy, Gearsy."_ Lifting her hands, Uzume showed the baggage she was carrying.

" _Goodnight Uzume!"_

" _Goodnight!"_

* * *

It was 2 am, 3 hours have passed since that interaction, and everyone was asleep. Except for two people, Nepgear and Uzume. Nepgear had snuck out from the room making sure not to wake Neptune up. Uzume was already in front of the bookshelf. They were both still in their pyjamas.

Upon Nepgear's arrival, the shelf was moved to the side, revealing even more questions in the form of a large metal door completely painted to blend with the wall. It was a door that Uzume had no recollection of. The door looked like it belonged to some secret laboratory you'd see in comics. Needless to say, the door was locked with a password. A small screen was present on the centre of the door, asking for the inputs.

" _OH! LET ME GO GET MY HACKING DEVICE!"_ Of course, such a door would fire up the tech mania within Nepgear. She bolted to her desk in her bedroom and within only a few seconds, Nepgear returned with said device and immediately began working on the door. How she managed to keep it quiet while retrieving the tool was impressive.

 _Uzume decided to look out for anyone, it did make her feel like they were thieves breaking in._

 _"Oh! I think I'm getting close! Just need to find a few more…"_ Nepgear trailed off, constantly mumbling to herself as she continued on hacking the door.

Uzume was getting excited to see what kind of secret was lying behind this door. Just what kind of item is it that it needs to be sealed up? However while questioning herself, she could not help but feel discomfort, almost as though someone was watching them. She Looked around once again and even scouting out a bit, but she could not find any evidence of another person being present.

" _Ok, it's open."_

On cue, the large door opened, revealing the secret inside. Upon seeing the contents inside, the two opened their eyes wide, taking half a step back in surprise.

" _W-what the goodness!?"_

" _What is all this?"_

The two screamed in shock, forgetting that everyone else was sleeping. Unfortunately, that shock had left the two girls wide open. A fatal mistake.

" _!?"_

Their bodies paralysed. Then two handkerchiefs appeared covering both their mouths and noses. Both Uzume and Nepgear could feel their conscious fading, but not before seeing the perpetrators' faces.

" _Hpmmmmh? (Histoire?)"_

" _H-Hmmm? (N-Neptune?)"_

With that, the two fell asleep, and Neptune gently put them down onto the floor.

" _Phew, that was close. Me thinks we are going to need to improve the security on this one. We really shoulda spent more money on hiding this."_

" _Indeed, it was my mistake to assume that the door wouldn't be found with just a bookshelf."_

" _You really cut the budget on this one…"_


	2. Chapter 2

It was 10 am. The room was brightly lit with sunlight. Uzume opened her eyes slowly as she used her left arm to block much of the light coming in through the window. She was lying on her bed in her pyjamas. She grabbed her head, trying to massage it. She was having a headache.

" _Ugh… My head hurts, I must have bumped my head while sleeping. And why do I feel so tired, I doubt moving some furniture would make me this tired."_

Followed by the comment, Uzume made a loud yawn before getting up from the bed. Still slightly tired, she began changing her clothes. After dressing into her usual attire, she slowly wobbled her way for the kitchen.

 _Meanwhile_

Nepgear and Neptune had both just woken up. It was the first time for as long as Nepgear could remember, to wake up around the same time Neptune would. She was climbing down the ladder, but both due to her headache and exhaustion, she slipped. Luckily Neptune had managed to catch her before she could get a second headache.

" _Ow… Wha-!"_

" _Whoa! Careful there Nep jr. You ok? You don't look well."_

With a loud yawn, Nepgear replied _"I'm fine, I'll go prepare breakfast."_

With that, Nepgear got up from Neptune's arms and started wobbling out of the room and towards the kitchen. Neptune following behind, getting ready to catch a falling Nepgear.

" _Oh. Hello Uzumeaaaah"_ Nepgear's greeting was interrupted with another yawn.

" _Hey Gearsy, Neptsy. You seem very tired Gearsy, you ok? First time seeing you waking up this late."_

Although Uzume didn't see, considering that they all arrived at the same time, she could tell that Nepgear had only woken up not long ago.

Uzume also let out a loud yawn.

" _You don't look too good yourself there Uzume, with you yawning that loud and all"_ Neptune commented with concern evident on her face.

" _Nah, I'm good. By the way, where's Histoire? She's usually up by now as well."_

" _No idea"_ Neptune shrugged turning towards the kitchen to grab some cups and drinks.

" _Thanks Neptsy."_ Uzume grabbed a cup from Neptune then poured it with some orange juice. Chugging down the entire cup in a single go.

While walking towards her console, Neptune managed to catch the presence of the floating Histoire, who flew in inconsistent height, clearly drowsy.

" _Whoa there Histy! You look like you are going to crash at any moment!"_ Neptune quickly dashed to Histoire, holding her up so that she doesn't crash both like a computer and a plane.

Quickly following behind, adult Neptune showed up, as energetic as all Neptunes are. _"Ooooo! Your guest room bed was really comfy."_

With that, the 5 seated themselves down for breakfast. _"By the way Histy, you looked busy last night, is there something on today?"_ Neptune asked.

" _No, but it seems the others decided to visit today. Whether it is just to play around or for work I do not know."_

" _Well, there's nothing happening so it's probably to play."_

" _Well that is fine for them, but I will still have you working today Neptune."_

" _Whaaaat? The host can't leave the guests behind!"_

" _Uzume, Nepgear and I will be the hosts, so you can go and do these quests."_

" _Egh. Fiiine."_ Neptune replied with an annoyed tone. She knew that once Histoire has made up her mind, changing that would be too much of a hassle for what it's worth.

* * *

2 hours later, the other CPUs have arrived. All gathered in the living room.

" _Hey Neptune, Uzume and Nepgear."_

" _Hey Nepgear." "Hello. Ms Nepgear." "Hey!"_

" _Hey Uni, Rom, Ram"_

" _Heya everyone! Did Ya miss me, Lonely Heart?"_

" _Is this how you greet someone who came to visit?"_ Noire walked over to Neptune and began twisting her fists against Neptune's head.

After that short greeting, everyone began doing their own thing. The four CPUs sat down on the floor and began playing a 4-player fighting game brought by Blanc. While Uzume and adult Neptune sat on the couch behind them, conversing with the CPUs. The candidates on the other hand, were playing their own monster hunting co-op game on their Ngear.

* * *

After an hour passed, Histoire interrupted their ( _more specifically Neptune's_ ) play session.

" _Alright Neptune, please go and do those quests I gave you earlier."_

"Ugh _… Ok… Here you go Uzume"_ Neptune handed over her controller to Uzume, however the other CPUs put down theirs.

" _Fu… We were playing for an hour straight, and immediately after we arrived too. Time for some break."_ Noire stated, relaxing her body from all the tension that was built while competing with one another in the game.

" _Oh please Noire, surely this is not all you can do."_

" _Well, sorry for not being a gaming maniac like you Vert."_ Noire retorted sounding rather harsher than she meant to. Luckily the other person was Vert, who simply laughed it off as if she was proud of that fact.

" _Well anyway, I'll be back real quick!"_ With that, Neptune left, leaving a gust of wind behind.

" _Oh yeah, I got a new room now. It's really cool want to see?"_ Uzume invited others as a way for them to take a break.

" _Oh, cool. Ok"_ With the agreement from Noire, Blanc and Vert also nodded in agreement.

" _Ow… I think nature's calling…"_ Adult Neptune replied while she covered her own stomach in pain, and left for the bathroom.

" _I told you it wasn't a good idea to eat those wrapped foods. They were obviously past the expiration date. Especially right before sleeping too. I'm surprised you didn't wake up in the middle of the night."_ Croire commented with a sigh.

* * *

Of course, being that it was simply a room, it didn't take long to show everything. The candidates were invited too, and you could say, it only took as long as it did because of the twins.

Now the entire gang (apart from Neptunes and Histoire) was walking down the hallway back towards the living room. And of course, with this many eyes, the bookshelf had once again caught the attention, but this time it was Blanc who found some of the books on it rather intriguing. However, that attention was quickly moved towards the abnormally large gap between the shelf and the wall behind it.

" _Huh. Why is this moved so far out?"_ Noire questioned as the twins moved in to peak behind it.

" _Well, duh, it's obviously because it's hiding something!"_ Sure enough, the twins found the metal door behind it. With a loud gasp coming from Ram, the twins tried to move the shelf, soon joined by the rest.

" _What is this door? I've never seen it."_ Uzume stated in amazement.

" _What's this? Password?"_ Nepgear looked at the screen placed at the centre of the door.

" _This looks like some secret door you would see in some science fiction anime or movies."_ Uni couldn't help but comment about the comical look of the door.

A second later, Histoire appeared to the scene, questioning what everyone was doing.

" _What are you all doing?"_

" _Oh, hey Histoire. Say, what's this door about?"_ Noire turned towards Histoire as she asked.

" _This is just an old storage room I sealed up to make sure Neptune couldn't access it."_

" _But why? It's not like there is anything dangerous inside right? Not to mention, I doubt Neptsy would be THAT careless."_ Uzume interjected.

" _Unfortunately it is something dangerous. And while no, she wouldn't go around carelessly with them, if they were ever used, the damage could be catastrophic."_

Normally, such warnings would deter one from doing anything rash. However, the fact that it was sealed up inside a basilicom, in the CPU's living quarters no less, and Histoire's reasoning had further intrigued the group.

Noire requested with her eyes firmly on Histoire.

" _Nepgear, please open the door."_

" _Huh? Oh, ok…"_

With that, Nepgear began hacking the door, causing Histoire to panic.

" _Please Nepgear, stop!"_

" _You are sounding awfully suspicious there Histoire."_ Blanc interrupted Histoire. Standing between Nepgear and Histoire.

Histoire, realising the kind of trouble she was in, quickly flew away towards the sibling's room. At the same time, messaging Neptune.

* * *

Neptune was already down at the guild. Along the way, she had run into Compa and IF, Neptune's long-time best friends. IF had to go fetch a quest she had planned to do alongside Neptune's. However, upon her leaving the building, she found Neptune staring intensely at her Ngear.

" _Sorry Iffy, Compa. I need to go, it's an emergency."_

" _Huh, what em-"_

Before IF could even finish the question, Neptune had transformed into Purple Heart and flew off at maximum speed towards the basilicom, more specifically towards her room.

It only took a few seconds and upon near arrival, Purple Heart could see her room window open, presumably by Histoire. Flying straight in, histoire quickly instructed

" _The door now, go!"_

With almost no loss in momentum, Purple Heart dematerialized her wings and sprinted to where everyone was.

 _Meanwhile_

" _Ah, it's open now."_ Nepgear signaled to everyone.

The group entered the room looking around in amazement. The room was a medium sized laboratory. It was also really cold, almost as though the entire room was a freezer ( _Of course, the Lowee CPUs were fine_ ). The lab had shelves on both sides of the room full of test tubes, all filled with all sorts of coloured liquid and sealed. Further down at the back of the room, was a large table with all sorts of equipment, some recognisable, others not so much.

" _My, what is all this?"_ Saying that, Vert looked over to a nearby shelf, taking out a test tube for closer inspection. The tube was half filled with some sort of green liquid, with a cork seal on top. However, after a few seconds the tube's liquid had turned to gas, filling the tube completely with a green fog.

Unfortunately for everyone, their time of awe was cut short with a loud bang coming from the doorway. It was Purple Heart standing there as if she had just stopped running. Her right hand was against the door, making it evident the banging noise just now was from her slamming her hand against the door. What's more, everyone could tell that she was absolutely furious.

" _Get. Out."_ Purple Heart said, she spoke with authority.

The group quietly left the room like children in a classroom and moved to the living room.

If you thought Neptune would only be on the receiving end of a lecture, you were in for a ride. For the next Hour, everyone was forced to sit on their knees. Neptune, still in her Purple Heart form, stood near the windows and began lecturing about the dangers of those equipment and how foolish they were to go around carelessly touching things they had no idea the dangers of.

* * *

" _Really. I thought you were all smarter than this…"_

Histoire floated in with a statement _"I'm sorry Neptune, I tried to stop them. But unfortunately, the explanation I gave only made them more eager…"_

" _It's alright Histy. It's not like you could really do anything, that paralysis spell is only effective up to 3 people at most anyway."_

Neptune transformed back letting out a big sigh. However, she saw Vert holding onto the test tube filled with green gas.

" _WHAT ARE YOU DOING STILL HOLDING ON TO THAT!"_

Everyone was in the middle of standing back up, but the sudden shout from Neptune had startled all of them. Everyone jolted in surprise, which only made things worse as that had caused Vert to drop said tube. Now, the floor being carpet should have made this into a none-issue, but due to the fact the tube was filled with gas, the pressure from the inside and the shake that occurred due to hitting the ground, pushed the cork out.

" _Phew, that was one heck of a stomach ache… Hmm? What's going on everyone? Why is everyone screaaaaaaah!"_ Adult Neptune had just returned to the living room after her nature business. She had no idea what was going on and began to scream as green gas had filled her vision.

Neptune immediately grabbed two people that was closest to her. Luckily Vert was standing at the back of the group and was far away from Neptune. This had given just enough time for Neptune to grab two people and transformed. The gas quickly spread, filling the room, but not before Purple Heart had managed to break open a window as she flew out with the two people she grabbed. The two coincidentally, happened to be the twins, who transformed once they were outside.

Looking back, Purple Heart screamed in frustration. The citizens below could hear the sudden scream coming from above. Looking up, they could see their CPU making a mess out of her hair. It was a surprising scene that one would never expect coming from Purple Heart.

A minute later, the ventilation created by the broken window quickly dissipated the gas. The three escapees re-entered the room. Histoire with a gas mask, quickly flew next to Neptune. For the twins, it was like the world had turned upside-down. In front of them were kids, looking no older than 5~6 years old.

" _ **Cough**_ _ **cough**_ _. What was that!?"_ It was Noire who shouted with a lot more childish voice. Then, realising her voice had changed, Noire looked down at her own body. She realised her body had turned to that of little kid, and her clothes were oversized for her, resulting in everything sliding down.

 _"Ahhhh! What happened to me, where is this? Who did this!?"_ As she screamed, she grabbed her clothes to cover herself up. She turned to look around only to find that Blanc and Vert were also in the same situation.

Hearing Noire's screams, Uni who had also turned, looked at Noire. _"What happened to you Noire!?"_ Noire turned towards the voice calling her. She found a black-haired girl same height has her looking at her in shock. But there was one problem…

" _Who are you?"_ Noire asked.


	3. Chapter 3

" _W-what do you mean?"_ Uni was shocked.

" _Exactly what I mean. Who are you? I don't know who you are. And why do you look so much like me? Ah, you must a fan. Were you affected by that weird green gas as well?"_

Hearing that, tears began welling up in Uni's Eyes. She was hoping that Noire was only joking, however as seconds went by, Noire's expression proved that Noire really could not remember her. Uni was shaking, clearly scared.

Watching this scenery unfold, the twins had a general idea of what was going on so, transformed back and ran towards Blanc.

" _Blanc! Do you remember us!?"_

" _ **Sniff sniff**_ _"_

Rom and Ram had already begun tearing up, scared just like Uni. Ram desperately asked in hopes that they were different. But alas…

" _Huh? Who are you girls? And why are you crying?"_ Blanc tried to pet their heads, but she felt awkward about it. Not to mention, she was now shorter than the twins.

Hearing those questions, the dams broke for the twins, Uni following right behind. Noire and Blanc could only panic at the events that unfolded in front of them. That was until Blanc found Noire from the corner of her eyes.

Unlike Noire, neither Blanc or Vert had seen each other yet. Seeing Noire however, Blanc quickly summoned her weapon, but as you can imagine, the hammer was way too big and far too heavy to even lift.

Vert who was behind them, was looking down in horror as... Transforming from a fully grown adult body to that of a five year old meant a loss of a lot of 'assets'. In fury, she materialised her weapon and faired a little better by holding the spear at the centre of gravity. Of course, the most she could do was a light poke at most.

Hearing the sound of a heavy weapon hitting the floor, Noire turned towards Blanc and Vert. Taking out her weapon as well, she was getting ready for combat. Or so she thought. Her weapon just like the other two, was too big and too heavy to wield properly. Fortunately for her, her sword was a lot lighter than a hammer or a spear, as such, she was able to wield it like a two-handed sword.

The three were ready to fight _(at least mentally anyway_ ). As if the three were talking telepathically, they transformed in sync.

However, not even their HDD forms were safe as those bodies had also turned to that of a child. Those childish bodies with oversized processors made Purple Heart feel as though she was committing a crime just looking at them. Of course, the three didn't give up. Materialising their weapons once again, they readied themselves for combat. Of course, that was actually impossible in their current form.

Watching the three, Purple Heart decided it was finally time to end it all.

" _You three, stop it. I don't need you going around damaging my basilicom, not that you could in that form anyway."_

" _Huh? Wait, how come you are fine?"_ Black Heart asked.

" _This was your doing wasn't it!?"_ White Heart accused.

" _You will pay for what you have done!"_ Green Heart shouted, angry at Neptune.

" _I'll explain it all in a bit, so just sit there and wait. I am not in the mood to deal with you three right now."_

While saying that, she walked towards Uni and lifted her up, gently pushing Uni's head towards her chest. Multi-tasking, Neptune looked around to find a small girl surrounded by the giant hoodie she was previously wearing.

" _Hey! What Happened!? Why did you scream? Wait, why do I sound so different?"_ Croire was yelling, shaking the notebook that was on the floor.

" _Oth- I mean, Neptune could you please cover yourself up properly?"_ Purple Heart asked.

"Huh? _Ok! By the way, who are you miss? And how do you know my name? And why is this book talking?"_

" _I'll explain it all later, just sit over there please."_

With that, the (now child) adult Neptune walked over to the couch while holding onto the notebook and the hoodie with the bottom of the hoodie being dragged across the ground.

Purple Heart then began looking around for the last 2 people, or rather 1 person as Nepgear walked over to Purple Heart and started shaking one of her legs to get attention.

" _Ah, nep jr. Sorry, could you go wait over there? I'm a little busy right now."_

With a sad expression, Nepgear nodded and walked over to the same couch that child Neptune was sitting on. Also dragging her clothes in the process.

" _Now, where are you Uzume."_ Saying that with perfect timing, Uzume was found sitting in a corner, hugging her knees, she was crying. From her, the same phrase could faintly be heard.

" _I'm sorry, I'm sorry."_

Walking over, Neptune gently put Uni down in front of the couch along the way. Once Uzume was in arms reach, Neptune slowly hugged Uzume before lifting her up to carry her back to where everyone else was.

" _It's alright Uzume… Nothing bad happened, you were only having a bad dream."_

Patting Uzume on the head, she began to calm down a little, only sniffing from all the crying.

And with that, everyone was present. The four that were crying were still sniffing from said crying. Noire, Blanc and Vert transformed back and were looking at Purple Heart in fury as if all this was her fault. As for Nepgear, she was watching Purple Heart looking completely beat with concern. Adult Neptune on the other hand, was looking around room with curiosity.

Purple Heart standing in front of the couch, transformed back. Following that was a loud sigh coming from Neptune as she slumped onto the couch. Sitting on the couch along with Neptune were Uzume who Neptune had embraced under her right arm, Nepgear who was holding onto neptune's left sleeve and the other Neptune, who was sitting on the left side of Nepgear.

First in Neptune's list of things to do was to calm down the candidates.

" _Uni, Rom, Ram it's going to be ok. They just don't remember you right now, but after about 3 days you should all be back to normal."_

" _So it was your doing after all, Purple Heart."_ Noire interjected with hostility. However, she immediately realised something wasn't quite right. Neptune was glaring at her with anger very much present on her face. Neptune closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

" _It wasn't my fault. You girls caused the accident."_ Neptune said it as calmly as possible.

But Nepgear could tell Neptune was angry and started to well up. She thought she was part of the guilty party when Neptune said ' _you girls_ '.

" _I… I'm sorry"_

Looking at Nepgear who's face was looking down, Neptune quickly hugged Nepgear to reassure that she wasn't angry at Nepgear.

" _Oh, I'm not angry at you Nep jr. I promise."_

With tears already formed on the corner of her eyes, Nepgear nodded.

" _What dumb thing are you talking about? How is this our fault? You look just fine, so it must have been your doing."_ Blanc retorted.

With a loud sigh, Neptune explained

" _Look, you won't remember right now, but you girls were the cause. Especially you VERT."_

" _I don't see how I could be at fault."_

" _You will remember once everything returns to normal. Anyway, Uni, Rom, Ram, the reason Noire and Blanc don't remember you right now is because all of you have been turned to five year olds. More accurately, your physical bodies have been transformed to that of a five year old, and all of you had your memories have regressed to when you were five. Because of that, they don't have memories of you yet. But after about 3 days, you should all revert back to normal and all their memories will return."_

" _What nonsense are you talking about? You can't alter a person's memories."_ Noire dismissed Neptune's explanation.

" _It's true, look at the date."_

After answering Noire, Neptune groaned, slumping her back onto the couch then turning her face towards Histoire. _"Histy… What are we going to do about this? How are the other nations going to take this?"_

" _Indeed, this is quite troublesome. Well, letting the people see them like this is most certainly going to cause a major crisis. For now, I will contact the other nations and tell them that they are going to stay over here for the next few days for their holiday break."_

" _What! Why should we stay HERE? Unless you are trying to use this chance to imprison us…"_ Noire then gasped.

" _Was this you plan to sabotage us!? To steal all our shares!?"_ Noire shouted. Still not believing Neptune's explanation.

" _No. The problem is, if the people saw you like this, there's going to be a likely chance crime rates will increase and worst case scenario, they may even try and overthrow you. After all, you are all currently defenseless in those forms. One thing for certain is that you will lose shares. Furthermore this could end up starting a war with Planeptune. And we are not interested in starting another war."_ Histoire answered.

" _What do you mean start another war? Our war never ended."_

" _No, it ended long ago. You are all allies now and went through a lot together."_

Histoire then turned to leave to make the phone calls.

Just as Histoire was about to leave the living room, IF and Compa stormed in stopping Histoire in the process. Seeing Neptune move so desperately earlier, the two knew something was up.

" _Nep! Whaaaaaaaat is all this!?"_

" _Who are all these adorable children!? Wait, are they the other CPUs!?"_

" _Oh Iffy, Compa, you girls came at the right time. I need help. Can you go get some small clothes for them please? I'll explain the details later."_

IF and Compa were still confused but agreed regardless. _"Huh? Sure… Wait, tell us what happened!"_

" _I will later. Could you please just go get some small clothes for them?"_

" _Ok, fine."_

And just like that, the two left, forgetting to ask everyone's sizes. Fortunately, Histoire quickly measured everyone's body size with the help of Neptune, who was not playing around this time and rather looked very annoyed ( _especially because of the three CPUs who were making it harder in every way possible_ ) and messaged the sizes to the two girls. Of course, being famous in Gamindustri and particularly more so in Planeptune, the two human's shopping was filled with awkward stares from onlookers.

The CPU's transformation was kept a secret. The basilicom staff members were prohibited from entering as well. However, seeing the giant bag of children's clothes from IF and Compa did leave the staff very confused.


	4. Chapter 4 - Night 1

About 5 hours had passed since that whole ordeal. Currently Neptune was lying on the couch. She may have not done any quests today, but she sure felt like she did fifty. The broken window was temporarily covered up with a plank of wood. The laboratory was locked once again, luckily neither Histoire nor Neptune had to worry about the others breaking in, as Nepgear being the only one who could, had regressed to a five year old and she no longer had the knowledge of hacking.

After having a call with the other basilicoms, Histoire was responsible for relaying all of the most important paper works to their respective CPUs. However, with how the CPUs were currently, she decided to do all the paperwork herself. Luckily, the other basilicoms decided to only give the important papers that would require immediate attention, so the workload was minimal, and normally, handing such papers to another nation would be a stupid idea, but Histoire's efforts over the years has gained their trust.

As for those said CPUs…

Turning her head towards the TV, Neptune's view was blocked by the body of a small girl in a black T-shirt and short white frilly skirt, with twin tailed hair. The person wearing said clothes was none other than Noire, standing in front of Neptune with her arms crossed, expressing disappointment.

" _Geez, Purple Heart, I expected better. You haven't even done anything today and you look this pathetic."_

" _Ugh. Not even raising kids in Plutie's dimension was this hard…"_

3 hours ago, after the duo humans' return, a war had erupted in the living room. A 3-on-1 war against Neptune. If one was to name the war, it would have been called 'the dressing war'. Compa and IF were in charge of helping the others change clothes, while Neptune by some misfortune, was left with Noire, Blanc and Vert. The entire war lasted for an hour and a half, with the three keeping their distance away from Neptune. With their memories reverted, they were extremely cautious of Neptune, or rather the one enemy who had not turned. They could have put the clothes on by themselves however with how they were, Neptune had to make sure none of them left her sight.

Everyone had similar outfits to Noire, all equipped with a simple T-shirt and a short skirt reaching down to their knees. In Blanc's case, she had a white T-shirt with a light brown frilly skirt. For Vert it was green and white, black and purple for child Neptune, and white and orange for Uzume. The twins didn't need them, but they insisted on getting one. They had the same coloured T-shirt to Blanc but had blue and pink skirts instead. Uni's was identical to Noires (including the hair style) and Nepgear's was the same as the child Neptune's but had a white T-shirt instead of the black one.

The three CPUs had finally begun to relax a little, realising that Neptune and Histoire really meant no harm, they started to trust Neptune's words, but they were still very much on guard. Blanc and Vert decided to play on Neptune's consoles, playing whatever games they could find. It was basically Celestia for Vert who had now forgotten all the games there. The child Neptune was there too, looking through the catalog of games with Vert.

Of course, everyone was confused as to why there were two Neptunes. Neptune (the CPU) tried to explain it but, introducing the existence of other dimensions without sounding like an absolute lunatic was impossible after all.

Meanwhile candidates were left alone. Playing their own games on their handhelds. However, due to the fact that the twins were not affected by the gas, Nepgear and Uni started to call them big sis Rom or Ram to the twin's request. Ram would aggressively hug the two every time they would call her that, while basically drowning ecstasy. Rom was gentle, but whenever Ram hugged, it quickly evolved to a candidates group hug.

If you are wondering how they managed to, it was because Nepgear's and Uni's memories had regressed all the way back when they barely knew each other. At that point in their memories, they had only seen each other once or twice. While both Nepgear and Uni did remember the twins being shorter than they were, it was easy for Ram to be able to reason that they still had all their memories and so technically, they had more experience.

As for Uzume, she was a special case. Histoire theorised that Uzume had two sets of memories. One when she was the CPU, and the other when she lived in Zero Dimension. Considering that she was fine at the time as the CPU according to Histoire, it was believed that Uzume must have had a traumatic moment in zero dimension for her to be behaving like so earlier. Neptune decided to keep Uzume in her arms ( _after changing her outfit of course_ ). Currently, to calm her down. Uzume was sleeping on the same couch as Neptune.

With the current situation, Neptune knew this was going to be tiring. While everyone was mentally capable of handling everything themselves, any physical work that required more muscle or height would require her help. Furthermore, she had to be on guard at all times, both to make sure that none of the CPUs would cause any damage, and in case an incident occurred anywhere in Gamindustri.

If there was some silver-lining in all of this, it was that Compa and IF also decided to help Neptune and Histoire while this problem was present. Which meant Compa's cooking for 3 meals a day. And the fact that everyone looked absolutely adorable ( _don't worry many photos were taken_ ).

" _Okay, dinner's ready!"_ Compa yelled from the kitchen.

It was that simple line that re-energised Neptune, who shot up in excitement. The sudden movement also woken Uzume.

" _C'mon Uzume, it's time for food!"_

" _Mm? Ok… Haaaaa"_ yawning loudly, Uzume got off the couch and made way for the kitchen.

" _MMMMM! So tasty!"_ Neptune said with excitement, clearly, all that work made her a lot more hungry than usual.

" _It really is."_ Noire could only reply in agreement.

The food was just simple fried rice with whatever ingredient they had available.

" _Indeed it is, especially after all that work, this tastes even better."_ Histoire replied while turning her head towards Neptune. Then she turned back towards the middle of the table and continued.

" _Now, it is nice to enjoy the meal and all. However, we also need address one issue while everyone is here. It is in regards to how you are all going to sleep."_

" _Hmm? What do you—oh right…yeah… We don't have enough guest rooms do we?"_ Neptune asked.

" _No we do not, and that is precisely the problem. A simple method might be to just split it to Blanc, Rom and Ram in one room, while Vert, Uni and Noire in another. Even then, it will be uncomfortable sleeping as there are only 1 single bed per guest room. And I do not wish to bother with several futons lying around."_

" _Wait, for a basilicom how do you have so few guest rooms?"_ Noire asked. It was definitely weird for a basilicom, especially one of this size to have so few.

" _Unfortunately, we only have 2 here. We do have more on the lower levels, however to make sure no one sees you like this, we cannot use those. I thought of allowing IF and Compa to use those rooms instead, however I believe that may raise suspicion, and as such decided to have them sleep here too."_

" _There's no need for that Histoire, we can just sleep at home and come back early."_ IF replied in reassurance.

" _No. It would be rude for us to cause you so much trouble over our problem."_

In the midst of all this, discussion it was Uzume pinched on one of Neptune's sleeves,

" _Uzume wants to sleep with sis…"_ It was an odd behaviour coming from Uzume. she was embarrassed. Almost like a kid who was too embarrassed to admit requiring someone else to sleep, Uzume blushed while lowering her head.

Histoire's eyes widened at the sudden realisation that Uzume had forgotten about her new room but more than that, _"Sis?"_

Uzume quietly nodded in response.

It had caught Histoire, Neptune, Compa and IF by surprise. Sure, Neptune was very caring of Uzume until now in that short time, but that shouldn't be enough right? That was definitely something to ask about. Regardless, Neptune quickly discarded the thought as that wasn't important right now.

" _Sure thing Uzume! We can sleep together."_ Neptune replied with a smile while patting Uzume on the head. In return, Uzume looked at Neptune with her own smile.

After dinner and the discussion, the rooms were decided:

Neptune and Nepgear were sleeping in their room, with Neptune sharing her bed with Uzume.

IF and Compa were to sleep in Uzume's room along with the child Neptune ( _Croire comes in a bundle with human Neptune_ ).

Blanc, Rom and Ram, in one of the guest room.

Noire, Uni and Vert in another.

Thankfully, now with an extra bed from Uzume's room, they only needed 2 futons per guest room.

The discussion had become quite intense near the end, so Neptune and Histoire ended up completely forgetting to ask Uzume about the whole ' _sis_ ' business. But with the rooms settled, there was peace.

It was currently past 9. Everyone was playing games together. The four CPUs were playing the same fighting game that Blanc had brought. Of course, with their memories reverted, Neptune had to teach them how to play.

Similarly, the twins went off to play with Nepgear and uni. The twins had to teach the two how to play their games as well.

Having calmed down, Uzume left to play with the candidates. She was looking at their N-gear curiously. Seeing a tech she had never seen before, Uzume asked myriad of questions, unfortunately the twins could not answer most of them.

Meanwhile, child Neptune was talking with Croire. Being both horrified and excited about all the history she had managed to record.

Despite Croire sounding even younger, perhaps because she was something else entirely, her book still had all the records up until now. Fortunately for everyone, Croire didn't need to leave the notebook to access her records, so Neptune managed to convince the child Neptune to not let Croire out.

Histoire went to her room and had not come out since. Presumably busy with all the paperwork from other nations.

Finally, IF and Compa were just sitting next to Neptune, watching the CPUs play.

" _By the way Nep, you never explained what happened."_

" _Oh~ right! I forgot about that… Well… Yada yada, blah blah."_

" _This and that, Ok. I understand the situation now but… What is this laboratory? I've never heard about it or seen it before."_

" _Well, you can see the reason why Histy and I sealed it up."_

" _Speaking of which, you seem to have a connection to that lab. Knowing what's inside and even sealing it up with Histoire and all."_

" _Well… It's my lab… Look, I'll explain everything tomorrow."_

" _Why not now?"_

" _I'm too tired to explain everything."_ Neptune replied.

IF decided not to bother Neptune any further, and quietly watched the game.

An hour later, Histoire appeared in the living room announcing to everyone it's time to go to sleep. Sure enough, it was now 10 pm.

" _Everyone! It's time to sleep."_

Seeing the situation, Histoire expected Neptune to tell her to wait. However,

" _Ok Histy."_ Neptune agreed as she quit the match mid-game, turning the console off.

" _Hey! Why did you quit? The winner hasn't been decided yet!"_ Noire complained. Their match had been going for almost half an hour now.

" _She was on her last life. She quit because she didn't want to lose."_ Blanc answered.

" _To be fair, she wasn't doing much since the beginning."_ Vert said. Vert, being the avid gamer she was, and being the most perceptive of the group, knew that Neptune was handicapping herself.Perhaps it had to do with the fact that they had to relearn how to play the game again or perhaps it had something to do with the conversation earlier with IF.

Ignoring the others, Neptune walked over to her room. A minute later, she re-entered the living room with a futon and a pillow. Everyone else was still packing their stuff up. In Blanc, Noire and Vert's case, Neptune's mess.

As Neptune was leaving the living room, she went past Histoire who was still near the living room entrance, Neptune quietly whispered, _"I need to talk to you about something later."_ Somehow, Histoire seemed to know exactly what it was and simply nodded her head in agreement.


	5. Chapter 5 - BedTime 1

A futon was set in each guest room and everyone was busy washing themselves, getting ready to sleep. All except for Neptune and Histoire. The two were in Histoire's room.

" _So, you believe that we should spill everything now that the laboratory has been revealed? is that correct?"_

" _Yeah. I mean we had our reasons back then, but now... I don't think we really need to hide it."_

" _Yes. I understand where you are coming from. But I need to ask. Are you only going to reveal it to just them, or are you going to reveal it to the public?"_

" _Hmm… I don't see anything wrong with going public. Why?"_

" _It might incite some to target the basilicom."_

" _What? What are you talking about? Are you thinking of revealing the lab?"_

" _Is that not what you plan to do?"_

" _No! We sealed it up for a reason. I just meant the other thing."_

" _Oh… Yes. I don't see anything wrong with revealing that. So then when are you going to announce it to the public?"_

" _Hmm…"_ Neptune pondered for over half a minute. _"Maybe in about a week? But I'm thinking of spilling it to everyone here tomorrow."_

" _Very well, I will plan an announcement for that schedule."_

" _Thanks Histy."_

" _I am partially responsible for this as well, I have been wondering what to do about this until now."_

With that settled, Neptune left

" _Night Histy!"_

" _Good night Neptune."_

* * *

It had been about twenty minutes since everyone was in their rooms. Everyone was on their beds or futons, chatting away. In the siblings' room, Neptune was lying on her bed with Uzume, while Nepgear was on her usual top-bunk. In Uzume's room, IF and Compa shared the bed with child Neptune in the middle. The Nep-note was on the desk nearby. As for the guest rooms. In one, Ram decided to have all 3 on the bed, not the best of ideas for a single bed. Blanc could be seen visibly irritated being stuck between the twins. Blanc was obviously holding back from trying to throw them off the bed.

And finally, in the last guest room, Noire and Uni shared the bed while Vert agreed to sleep on the futon without any fuss, much to Noire's surprise. Vert was lying on her side, her back facing the bed.

" _Hey Uni? What was I like? Like, what kind of sister am I to you? I honestly still can't believe I have a sister, but with everyone saying I do and you looking so much like me…"_

" _Mmm well... You were very strict and very stubborn… But… You always looked so cool."_ Uni replied, hugging Noire's arm with a smile. Causing Noire to blush in embarrassment. She was feeling a bit sorry from what she heard, but hearing that Uni still liked her, did make her feel happy. Apparently, the sisterly love cannot be erased even if their memories were.

" _Thanks Uni…"_ Noire smiled back, patting Uni on the head.

Still, Noire wanted to have a word with her past? Present? Future? She wasn't sure what to really call it but, she wanted to lecture herself to fix those problems.

Vert, who heard the entire conversation, also smiled. It was a lovely scene to hear. She was a little disappointed in not being able to watch the scene unfold in front of her.

" _It is nice to have a sister…"_ Vert thought, feeling a bit lonely, knowing the fact that she had no sister of her own.

 _Meanwhile_

" _It's hot… Hey, I'll just sleep on the futon, you two can share the bed."_ Blanc said, still sandwiched between her sisters.

" _Nope! You are going to sleep with us!"_ Ram denied, as Rom nodded, agreeing to Ram.

Blanc groaned, _"Are you two really my sisters?"_

" _Yep!"_ Ram answered with a bright smile, while Rom nodded once again, with her own smile.

" _Hey, what was I like? I can't really believe it, but what Purple Heart said… In my years of fighting her, the one thing I've learned is that she doesn't really like lies."_

" _Oh yeah! You did tell us you had the longest history with Neptune. But if I was to say… You never let us do anything on our own. Always busy with work and you get really angry really quickly."_

" _Tsk. Now I regret asking."_

" _But… we still love you." "Yep!"_ Rom and Ram said respectively, as they tightly hugged Blanc who was currently slightly smaller than the two.

Blanc blushed, but smiled as well. Happy to know that she was still loved regardless.

* * *

An hour and a half later.

Now the lights were off, and everyone has fallen asleep. All but one, Nepgear. Having her memories regressed has made her remember her younger days more vividly. In her memories, Neptune would sleep with Nepgear like how Neptune was with Uzume right now. Feeling the urge, Nepgear climbed down the ladder. She was standing next to the bed watching the two sleeping. Neptune's arm was over Uzume's chest, and it appeared as though Uzume was trying to move the arm off subconsciously.

Due to the strong desire to relive those moments, Nepgear quietly snuck onto the bed. She was just about ready to lie down with Uzume in between the siblings. Until she noticed Neptune slowly opening her eyes.

" _Mm… Oh, Nep jr. Do you want to sleep together?"_ Nepgear slowly nodded.

" _Well, this bed is a bit too small for that…"_ Neptune replied.

Nepgear's looked down in disappointment and slowly moved towards the edge of the bed.

" _Hmm… Ah! Why don't we go to a different room then?"_ Neptune asked, remembering the queen-sized bed in Uzume's room. Sure, it was preoccupied with IF, Compa and the other Neptune, but that was the only bed big enough to fit everyone without having to squeeze anyone or run the problem of whoever was on the edge rolling off the bed.

The answer had brought a smile to Nepgear's face, however remembering the very same problem, she looked disappointed again. At this point in her memories, she had never met IF or Compa.

But before she could decline the proposal, Neptune slowly got off the bed while carrying the sleeping Uzume princess style. Nepgear began to panic as Neptune walked towards the door. Nepgear grabbed her sister's pyjamas, trying to stop Neptune. However, Neptune simply looked at Nepgear and smiled, before resuming her travel towards the door.

The three had arrived at their destination. Much to IF's annoyance, Neptune had quietly woken the two young adults up.

" _Sorry Iffy, Compa. But can we switch rooms for a few nights?"_ Neptune asked while looking down at Nepgear, who was holding onto Neptune's Pyjamas.

Seeing the situation, the two humans understood what was going on. Leaving IF to sigh.

" _Alright, fine."_ IF smiled as she got off the bed. Compa got off as well, but she had to carry the child Neptune who was still asleep.

" _Thanks Iffy, Compa."_ Neptune said, returning a smile. Then she gently put Uzume down onto the bed before getting on the bed herself. Once on, Neptune patted the empty spot next to her, welcoming Nepgear to join. Nepgear had a bright smile and quickly but gently got onto the bed.

The three were now lying on the bed with Neptune in the middle and her arms around the other two. Slowly falling asleep once again. As Neptune was slowly falling asleep, she could not help but smile at the cuddly situation she was in.

" _You are all really cute…"_ Neptune said her final line before preparing to enter the dreamland. As if responding to what she said, both Uzume and Nepgear snuggled close to Neptune.

" _It's hot…" Never mind. That was Neptune's final line for the night._


	6. Chapter 6 - Day 1

It was around 9 am. Neptune, who used to wake up at 10, was now forced to wake up a bit earlier for several reasons. One being the other CPUs making a lot of noise early in the morning. Two being her responsibility for taking care of the others, and third was IF, Compa and Histoire who were waking her up for the first two reasons mentioned. Uzume was there too, helping the three. Only reason, she wasn't forced to wake up at 6 or 7 was because everyone was tired.

" _Ugh… I was having a nice dream…"_ Neptune complained, as she got off the bed yawning.

" _Neptune, you need to keep your eyes out for them. You know best how they are. Who knows what could happen without you keeping them in check."_

" _Yeah, yeah. I know. I just hope part of the basilicom isn't already frozen or on fire already."_ Neptune joked.

" _I think if that were the case, you'd know already."_ Compa replied.

" _It was just a joke Compa."_ IF said, but also said one more word under her breath. _"Hopefully."_

" _Oh"_

Uzume followed Neptune out the room with the other three right behind. For Histoire, seeing Uzume walk besides while staring at Neptune, made her feel weird. For a CPU who is the senior of the two, to be looking at Neptune like a big sister was a very unique sight. Thinking that, Histoire had also remembered what Uzume said during dinner the night before.

" _By the way Uzume, why did you call Neptune 'Sis'?"_

The question got the attention of everyone present. Now the five stopped in the middle of the hallway.

" _Oh yeah, you called me that, didn't you?"_

" _I know that she forgot everything, including how she used to call you. But that was really weird."_ IF commented as well.

Compa also joined _"I was really surprised too!"_

With a bright smile, Uzume grabbed one of Neptune's hands with both of hers.

" _She was being very kind to Uzume while being super gentle! Uzume has trouble saying her name and she was being so caring, so Uzume decided to call her sis!"_ Suddenly as though a lightbulb was lit above Uzume, she asked _. "Can Uzume call you mama when you transform?"_

Listening to her question, everyone, was surprised. As for Neptune, she was completely flabbergasted.

" _I_ _…_ _Um… I… I… Uhhhh"_

" _N-Ne-Neptune, calm down. I-it certainly is odd someone who is older than you to be calling you mama, b-but I'm sure people will ac-"_

" _Histy, you need to calm down yourself!"_ Neptune shouted. Fortunately, playing the straight man against whatever Histoire was saying, did calm her down a bit.

" _I'm… Not sure about mama… You can just call me Neptsy or big sis."_

" _Ok, sis!"_ Uzume replied.

The five continued their way to the living room, with Uzume holding onto Neptune's hand. IF calmed down as well and started making jokes about Neptune being a mother, until Neptune retorted with how she took care of both IF and Compa in UD.

* * *

Upon arrival, the chaos was already present. However, it wasn't in the form of a part of the room being frozen or on fire, but rather in the form of screams coming from Blanc and Noire. The CPUs were playing a game on the console. It was the same one they were playing last night. According to what the two were shouting, Noire had been eliminated first because Blanc and Vert had apparently teamed up. However, noire had used that as an excuse to prove why she was the best, which ticked Blanc off. Vert on the other hand tried to stop the screaming contest.

On the other side of the room, it was peaceful. The child Neptune was with the candidates this time with a handheld of her own. IF explained that the handheld was a spare one from the sibling's room given by Nepgear. What none of them knew, besides Histoire and Neptune, was that that spare one was actually a backup that Nepgear bought in case her tinkering breaks one of them (yes, there are several). From how quiet and focused the group was to their screens, and from their occasional shouts, they were also playing the same game as the CPUs only on their handhelds instead. Fortunately, the candidates never did have as much a competitive drive as their sisters.

" _Hey everyone!"_ Neptune cheered, getting the attention of everyone else but the two causing biggest problem.

Meanwhile, Compa left for the kitchen. IF was just watching the whole event and sighed along with Histoire. Uzume stayed next to Histoire while Neptune walked over to the two culprits of this morning chaos.

" _Blanc, Noire. Stop that."_ Neptune interrupted their verbal battle, putting her arm between the two, gaining their attention.

" _Hmph. Finally awake are we, Purple Heart? I should have attacked you as soon as I woke up, had I known that you were this lazy of a CPU."_ Noire insulted Neptune, clearly still heated. The candidates, Uzume and the humans thought Noire was talking about the present when said she should have attacked Neptune, but Histoire and the four CPUs knew, she meant back then when they were still at war. Neptune could only weakly laugh at Noire's comment. However, Blanc was still not quite over either…

" _Of course that would be your first thought! No wonder all your followers are just shallow businessmen!"_

Everyone could see that Noire was about to pop a vein and Her face was starting to turn red as well.

With no other alternative, Neptune did what she must. She trapped both Blanc and Noire in her arms. One arm each. Then she lied down on the floor, dragging the two with her. The two were separated physically by Neptune's body and they could not escape her grasp. At this moment, Planeptune, Leanbox alliance came to diffuse the situation.

" _Vert, I leave this to you!"_ Neptune signalled.

" _You can leave it to me."_ With a smile Vert answered. Climbing on top of Neptune, Vert began to tickle the two troublemakers all over.

" _Ahahahahaha, Vert you… Ahahahaha"_ Blanc tried to yell, but her lines were cut short with laughter.

" _Ahahahahahaha, Stop… I'm sorry… Ahahahaha"_ Noire on the other hand, pleaded guilty, but was left to be punished.

After several minutes, The two were almost completely out of breath.

" _Ha…Ha… Neptune you… You are going to pay for that…"_ Blanc warned, but it really did not sound threatening with all that breathing.

" _I… Get… You for this… Remember that…"_ Noire too, declared her vengeance, with a lot of huffing in between.

" _Alright, Breakfast is ready!"_ Compa yelled from the kitchen.

For the most part, the mealtime went quietly. Except for the beginning. Due to how tired both Blanc and Noire had gotten from all that laughter, Neptune had to feed the two. As you can imagine, they tried to refuse, however they eventually gave in and took Neptune's offer. The entire time, the two faces were as red as a tomato from embarrassment.

After the meal, everyone was simply relaxing, playing games or just chatting away.

The morning to lunch time had been very much uneventful, a nice change of pace for four who were in charge of taking care of everyone. Even Histoire was relaxing for once. However, it was the time to reveal Neptune's secret. Not to the public, but everyone currently present.

Everyone was sitting on the floor in front of Neptune whileHistoire was floating next to Neptune, and the two looked at each other for a moment before letting out a sigh in unison.

" _Alright, I promised to tell you yesterday. About the lab, me and the reason why Histy and I decided to keep the whole thing a secret. I just want you to promise me that you won't go in the lab without Histy or my permission. And you won't go telling the public about the lab."_

" _Fine, sounds fair."_ Noire agreed, following her Blanc, Vert and Uzume nodded in agreement as well.

" _OK!"_ Ram yelled. Truthfully, Neptune's biggest concern were the twins. Not in them going in the lab, but spilling the lab to the public by accident. None the less, the other three candidates all nodded.

" _Ok. Well if Nep-nep wants to keep it a secret, I will zip my mouth!"_ Compa said, trying to assure Neptune.

" _Don't worry Nep, I'm sure I can keep it a secret better than you honestly."_ IF agreed with a joke.

" _Alright, thanks. Where do I start… I guess I'll go straight to the point. Ok, do you know of the doctor named Dr. Phune?"_

Hearing the name Compa answered, _"Oh, her! Yeah, she was mentioned in the school textbooks. She was known as the doctor who sped up Planeptune's medical development by a few years. She was credited for the creation of Panacea and the stat boosters. But no one has ever met her in person."_

Noire also threw her knowledge in the ring, _"Right, her. She sold her medicine and the formulas to other nations too. I was worried she was a secretly working for Planeptune, but her potions were proven to be safe, so we agreed shipment. But she died only two years into her career. I remember the reports saying, she was killed by an ancient dragon during her travels to get more materials. Anyway, what about her?"_ Noticing the implications, Noire gasped. _"Don't tell me, that was you!?"_

Neptune nodded, confirming Noire's suspicion.

" _Yep, the doctor was actually me. The 'death' obviously never happened. But after a long discussion with Histy, we decided to seal the lab and we 'killed' her off to avoid suspicion. Oh, and I never created Panacea. Just upgraded it to also have a healing effect."_

However, just as she was about to get into the details, the door bells could be heard ringing.

" _I will get it."_ Histoire said. She then flew to the entrance.

" _Oh! E-everyone from gold third!"_ Histoire shouted with her voice shaking, getting a look of confusion from the group.

Hearing that, Neptune quickly ran to the entrance.

" _Oh B-Sha, everyone!"_

" _Hey Nep-nep! By the way, what's with Histoire yelling like that?"_

" _Oh, uh… We just didn't expect to see you, we weren't told you were coming either."_

" _Oh. Well we came to play! I met the rest along the way."_ B-Sha explained.

" _I heard Noire was staying here for a few days, so I came to visit."_ K-Sha explained her intentions for her visit. C-Shar and S-Shar also explained their reasons, which were similar to K-sha's.

" _Uh… Well… we are kind of busy so… would you mind coming some other time?"_ Neptune requested, gaining a look of suspicion from the Gold Third members. But oh, this was not over. Oh how the world was testing the two today. Sure enough before the gold third could give their answers, even more visitors had arrived.

" _Neppy~! We came to see you~!"_

" _Neptuna!"_ Speeding up, Peashy was ready to tackle Neptune.

" _Plutie! P-Ko! Everyone from the Ultradimension!"_ Neptune screamed in horror. Yes, All the CPUs with the exception of Rei had come to visit as well.

Neptune did not have enough time to calm down, and was body slammed by Peashy, throwing Neptune onto the floor. If any more problems appear now—

" _Kyaaaaa! Who are you!?"_ Neptune could hear a scream coming from the living room. It was Uni's Voice. Neptune quickly moved Peashy to the side and dashed back to the living room. Looking around, Neptune found the reason for Uni's scream.

" _Wha-Wha-What is going on!?"_ It was Steamax, possibly the worst one to show up.

Neptune's stress level was increasing at a rapid rate. _"Moody ninja!"_

" _Gah! L-l-lady Neptune! What is this? Who are those young girls? And why do they all look so much like the CPUs. In fact, I see lady Rom and lady Ram here!"_

" _I'll explain later. For now, don't you dare leave! If I notice that you are gone, I'm going to send you to the scrap yard!"_ Neptune threatened, clearly just about ready to burst. Just as she was about to run back to the entrance, Peashy appeared.

" _Oooooh! Neptuna, who are these kids? Can I play with them?"_ Without waiting for a reply, Peashy ran into the room, immediately hugging the child Neptune ( _Well, I say hugging, but you could almost say she was crushing the poor girl)_.

" _Oof! Someone_ _…_ _Help me!"_

" _P-Ko! Get off her! You are going to kill her at that rate!"_ Neptune screamed, quickly pulling Peashy off the child Neptune.

" _Eugh… I thought… I was going… to die, I could… almost see the… light…"_ Child Neptune was gasping for air as she commented.

" _Bad P-Ko! Just sit down quietly for now, OK!? Please."_

But no breaks for this train. As Neptune put Peashy down and turned around, she saw everyone else who were previously at the entrance, looking at the chaos that was occurring in the living room.

Unfortunately for Uni, who happened to be the one closest to the living room entrance, K-sha's eyes met hers.

" _Kyaaaa! Who is this adorable girl that looks just like Noire!?"_ Almost moving at the speed of light, K-sha hugged Uni while aggressively rubbing her face against Uni's.

" _Geh! Noire! Help meeeeee!"_

" _Hey you! Let go of Uni now!"_

Oh, what a mistake Noire had made…

Looking at Noire, _"Kyaaaaa! This one also looks just like Noire!"_ K-Sha's eyes lit up then moved just like before, hugging Noire as well, lifting them both off the floor. Now you could only hear the screams of terror from the Lastation sisters, along with another form of scream coming from K-Sha.

" _Nep-nep, what's going on?"_ B-Sha asked.

" _Wow~! Everyone looks so cute! Hey Neppy~, are you taking care of kids now~? I can help. It will be just like back when we took care of Iffy, Compa and Peashy~! Ehehe~."_ Plutia said.

With a loud sigh of defeat, Neptune told everyone to come in and sit down. Neptune needed to take a moment to calm down and explain the situation to the newcomers, her secret she was planning to spill was delayed by another hour. Neither Neptune nor Histoire were pleased about the fact more people were going to find out about the lab.

* * *

" _Now, back to explaining my secret. Ah yea! I am Dr Phune and I used to make all sorts of potions and other chemicals. The reason Histy and I decided to hide this under another name was so that other nations wouldn't reject the offer outright. No one else really knows, just how bad of a term we were on back then. Back when our sisters weren't born yet. Back before Iffy and Compa were born. We were at war, so any kind of potion I made, Histy and I thought that other nations would try and sabotage them or even use that as an excuse to team up with each other to completely get rid of Planeptune. So, we decided to sell them under the name Dr. Phune."_

HD Noire seemed like she was thinking of something.

" _Ok… I get that. Sure we might have done that if we knew she was you. But I just need to ask. It doesn't have much to do with what you were saying, but why 'Dr. Phune'? It always sounded like a stupid name."_

" _Oh Noire, you have no idea what kind of stupid names Neptune had come up with before that."_ Histoire replied.

" _She insisted on using at least some of the characters from her name in it. For example…"_ Just remembering it, Histoire couldn't help but facepalm. Neptune on the other hand, embarrassed, tried to stop Histoire from saying it.

" _Ahh! You don't need to say them!"_ Ignoring Neptune's plea, Histoire gave one.

" _Dr. Phart… she initially wanted to use Heart, but that was too obvious so she changed it to that without thinking… Whether to say fortunately or unfortunately, that was the worst one."_

Both versions of Noire, Blanc, Vert and even Plutia immediately busted into laughter at the name. With a bright blush on Neptune's face, she continued on, trying to move away from the topic as quickly as possible.

" _A-anyway! After about two years, we realised the amount of potentially dangerous potions I made was too much. So Histy decided to stop me. Looking back at all the work I've done, I had to agree. So we sealed the lab. The only reason we decided to not completely destroy it was because we needed to keep a record of all of them some way or another. But having documents of them meant, anyone could start making them if they got their hands on them. I still remember exactly what each and every one of those potions and chemicals do and how to make them. And as for the reason why we didn't name them, it was to scare anyone from just taking the them carelessly. Last thing, Histy and I actually decided to go public with the whole Dr. Phune thing but we are still going on keeping the lab a secret."_

Although understanding the reason behind their whole ordeal, IF still had one more question to ask.

" _Ok. Now I see why it was kept a secret. I want to ask though."_

" _Hmm? What is it Iffy?"_

" _You sounded like you really enjoyed making those potions. Since everything has been spilt, I may as well ask. Do you still want to make more? I think it would be a good way to get a lot of shares."_

" _Hmmm. Maybe. But I am still forbidden from making or using any of those already in the lab. Most I am allowed to make are simple healing potions now."_

" _I see… Lady Neptune had that kind of hobby. This could make an excellent article."_ Steamax said, quickly gaining an intense glare from Neptune.

" _Now that you all know of what's happened. None of you are allowed to leave. ESPECIALLY you moody ninja. Don't even think about writing anything about the lab, and You have to keep the whole 'Dr. Phune' thing a secret until I got public. You got that?"_

" _Yes, I understand."_

" _W-wait, what do you mean, 'Not allowed to leave'?"_ This time it was the Ultradimension Noire complaining.

" _I can't trust you guys to keeping this problem a secret. I want to trust you... but the risk is too much. Don't worry, you will only be here for two more days. After that, the gas' effect should be worn out."_

" _Hmph, not being able to trust us like that. I'm disappointed Neptune. I thought you were better."_

" _Can't say I trust you after getting hacked multiple times…"_

" _Wha—You!"_ Noire was mad with that insult. But more salt into the wound. _"Gee, my other self sounds rather quite unreliable."_ It was the Hyperdimension Noire saying that. Hearing such a thing. UD Noire's face was turning completely red.

"Both _of you, please. Sorry everyone, this is for safety. If the information that the CPUs have turned into helpless children were to go out, who knows what kind of chaos this could cause. We just want to make sure absolute safety."_ Histoire apologised, explaining the reasoning behind that decision.

K-Sha however, seemed absolutely thrilled. Seeing another Noire on top of a child Noire, K-Sha was already in Celestia. With joy clearly evident, _"Yes! I would gladly help!"_

Along with K-Sha, the rest agreed to help. Noire was still furious at the comments, but she agreed reluctantly. Only reason for her agreement was Plutia.

" _That would be 5000 credits! Just kidding. You seem like you are in a lot of trouble, and I will always be happy to help you for free Nep-nep."_ B-Sha joked, momentarily getting a disapproval stare from the other gold third members.

There was one question from UD Blanc though. _"So, what do we do? They can take care of themselves, I don't see how we can help."_

" _Well, you are basically taking care of the basilicom more than them. As we explained, their memories have regressed back to when they were five. Back when we were still at war. So if any kind of argument starts, who knows what might happen. Yes, their bodies have also turned, which helps us in the fact that they cannot destroy the place with their physical strength, but they can still use their powers."_ Histoire explained.

" _Ok, I understand. So we just have to make sure they don't start fighting seriously."_ UD Noire replied

" _Yes."_


	7. Chapter 7 - Night 2

**A/N: Fixed some of the grammar and pacing issues. Please let me know if there are more.**

It was nearing dinner time. With the Hyperdimension CPUs and candidates (minus the twins) losing their memories, most of the time was spent re-introducing each other. This wasn't all bad, as the Gold Third and the Ultradimension CPUs got to use this chance to introduce each other.

After all the greeting, everyone separated into small groups with the exception of Histoire, who left to contact the UD histoire. The groups were split into Lastation, Leanbox, Lowee and Planeptune. The reason for this was to, one, it was to minimise the chance of a conflict. And two, seeing their other dimension counterpart was too interesting to not delve into for the Hyperdimension CPUs.

Looking at Lastation.

" _So that girl Nepgear, those twins and Uni doesn't exist in that dimension? And I am allied with Purple Heart? On top of that, in that dimension, the CPU of Planeptune is that ditzy looking girl?"_

" _Yeah… If I rememberNeptune was stuck in our dimension for about 20 years, which was only around 20 days here. Oh and be careful of Plutia… When she transforms…"_ UD Noire answered all the questions, ending with a shiver from remembering all those 'moments' with Iris Heart.

" _I really can't believe you. Is she really that scary? If you are like me I doubt she should really be that scary."_

" _It's not her power, it's her personality…"_

Speaking of scary personality…

" _Noire! Oh Noire! You are so cute no matter what form you are in!"_ K-Sha was screaming, scaring Uni. The entire time, Uni was hiding behind her sister with an iron grip on the back of her sister's shirt. Steamax tried to help Uni by asking K-Sha to calm down, but due to his shy nature, wasn't able to calm K-Sha down.

" _What's with her? She's arguably worse than that pink freak."_ UD Noire asked.

" _I don't know. She's been like this the entire time. It's actually creeping me out…"_

" _I'm going to go ask Neptune about that."_

" _Wait! don't leave us here with her! She nearly hugged us to death earlier!"_

" _Alright fine, we'll go together."_

* * *

Meanwhile the Lowee group.

" _Nice hat, it looks cute."_

" _Thanks. So I guess you really don't remember huh? You visited my Lowee along with your sisters before."_

" _Huh. Did I?"_

" _Yea! We did! Everything was red!"_

" _Ram, please be careful of what you say… You make my Lowee sound like some nation drenched in blood."_

"Don't worry, I can guess that's not what she meant. But I am interested in what she meant. _"_

" _Yeah. My Lowee always gives off the feeling of autumn."_

" _Huh. Mine always gives off the feeling of winter."_

There was a few seconds of silence between the two, unsure of what else to talk about.

" _So, you read any books?"_ HD Blanc asked. Starting a new topic.

" _Yeah, I was actually. It's about a boy with special powers, and all the girls that live with him and shares their powers with him. The kind of powers the girls have are interesting. One has a book that lets her know everything, another one controls time, there is also one that can change the forms of anything."_

" _Sounds interesting. I might read that. Would you mind letting me borrow it?"_

" _Actually, I borrowed it from you."_

" _Oh…"_ There was another silence between the two. That was until HD Blanc looked at the twins playing with C-Sha.

" _By the way, what's with this brown-haired thunder tits. Just looking at her body, irritates me."_ HD Blanc asked.

" _I don't know, we only just met earlier remember? But she seems to be getting along with Rom and Ram. Rom, Ram, do you know her?"_

" _Yeah! She was with us and helped us out before!"_ Ram answered, Rom confirming by nodding her head.

" _Yeah, Blanny doesn't remember right? I must say, you look really cute in that outfit."_

" _Blanny...?"_ HD Blanc questioned.

" _That sounds like a stupid name."_ UD Blanc stated her opinion on the nickname.

" _Haha. You always did complain about that. I guess no matter the dimension, that won't change huh? Though, you did eventually give up. We are known as the Golden Pair back in Lowee you know?"_

" _That sounds stupid. But, I guess that means we were friends."_

" _We still are Blanny."_

* * *

For Leanbox, there weren't much going on besides UD Vert suffocating HD Vert or nearly breaking HD Vert's neck. Not with any ill intent, but from being smothered by UD Vert's breasts. As for S-Sha, she was not interested in helping Vert from her soft demise.

" _OOOOOOO, PLEASE BE MY SISTER!"_

" _HPMHPFMPHMMHMPHHPMPPMMFMHPH" (Translation: Please let me go! I'm going to Die!)_

" _Oh, sorry about that. You just look so cute!"_ UD Vert apologised, while pushing HD Vert out of her demise.

" _I can understand how other me feel, but please, such aggressive behaviour is going to scare them away! Anyway, would you like to play some games?"_

" _I would love to."_

" _Would you like to join S-Sha?"_

" _Not interested."_

With that, the Verts turned on Neptune's console and began smashing away.

* * *

And finally, the largest group, Planeptune group. Neptune was sitting with Nepgear in her arms, while Compa and IF sat on the left of her. On Neptune's right, were Uzume and Peashy. Child Neptune was sitting next to IF with B-sha sitting next to Plutia, who was sitting on the opposite side of the circle to Neptune.

" _So you can make potions Neppy?"_

" _Yeah..."_

" _Neptuna! Neptuna! Who is she?"_

" _Oh! That's right! All of you introduced yourselves to each other, but Uzume never got the chance to. Whoopsies. Sorry Uzume, you can introduce yourself now."_

" _OK! Hi! My name is Uzume Tennouboshi! Let's get along! You look so cute Peashy!"_

Uzume hugged Peashy, who returned a hug of her own. Unfortunately, that hug wasn't as pleasant as Uzume thought…

" _Owy… Feels like Uzume broke one of her ribs."_ Uzume had her arms wrapped around her chest, tears caught on the edges of her eyes.

The child Neptune on the other hand, was busy staring at Plutia as though she wondering about something.

" _Is this really Lady Plutia?"_

" _Huh~? Do you know me little Neppy~?"_

" _The CPU of Planeptune is Lady Plutia right?"_

" _Oh!"_ CPU Neptune exclaimed. _"She must be the 'me' from your dimension Plutie!"_

" _Wow~! So there really was another Neppy~!"_ With that, Plutia hugged the child Neptune.

" _Long time no see brat."_ Croire greeted.

" _Huh~? Who's talking?"_ Plutia looked around, trying to find the source of the voice.

" _Down here dammit!"_

" _Huh~? Oh~! It's a talking book~!"_

" _Uhh… Not quite Plutie. Remember Croire?"_

" _Croire~? Hmmmm~…Nope."_

" _You know, the evil Histy?"_

" _Oh~! Her~!"_

" _Yep. That's her, trapped in that book by the mini-me."_

" _Wo~w. Good Job little Neppy~."_ Plutia said, as she gently patted the mini Neptune on the head.

Croire sighed then started having conversations with Plutia. While their conversation was happening, Neptune saw UD Noire entering her field of view.

" _Hey Neptune. I need to ask something." She_ came along with the entirety of the Lastation group.

" _Hm? What's up? Coming over with the entire dere crew."_

" _Don't call us that!"_ UD Noire retorted.

" _Anyway. Just want to ask, what is up with this girl?"_ UD Noire said, as she pointed at K-Sha, who was busy grinding her cheeks against HD Noire's. Obviously, HD Noire looked very much terrified, like as though she was about to be devoured.

" _Oh. I don't really know the details, but from what I know, she's a total yandere for Noire. I don't know if she was always like that."_

Then, K-Sha quickly responded. _"Ah. I wasn't always like this! It's ever since Kurome's influence, I've become like this."_

Cold sweat was falling down Neptune's head, while UD Noire looked somewhat confused, before dismissing it as something she doesn't need to know.

Looking at the time, Compa realised that she needed to start preparing for dinner.

" _Oh! It's time for dinner. I'll go get the meals ready."_ With that, Compa left for the kitchen.

At the same time, Histoire had appeared again.

" _Sorry, I'm back now, I was busy contacting the other me. Thankfully, she has agreed to you staying here. Unfortunately for her, she's going to be in the same situation as me. Dealing with all the important papers from other nations."_

" _Is she going to be ok? She's not going to short circuit or even explode is she?"_ Neptune asked, slightly concerned due to UD Histoire having a lower spec.

" _She said she is going to be fine. Not much more of a workload compared to what she normally deals with, she said."_

" _Ouch…"_ Neptune said, not because of how hard UD Histoire's work became, but rather the harsh remark towards Plutia. Fortunately, Plutia either didn't seem to mind, or didn't notice.

Nothing much happened beyond that. Dinners were made, foods were eaten, occasional arguments between the CPUs. HD Noire was getting fed by K-Sha, not of Noire's own will, while Uni stared at the two with both fear and concern.

* * *

It was about an hour since they finished eating. Everyone was playing games or chatting away. Neptune however, was alone with Histoire. The two were at the balcony located at the top of the basilicom.

" _So Neptune. What is it you wish to ask?"_

" _Nothing much. Just wondering if I can start using that lab again. I won't go too crazy this time. I just want to try and make more useful potions. I won't make any more of those catastrophic ones. Well, one of them might be close..."_

" _Hearing that does not assure me…_ _But why now? I understand that the secret is going to be made public, but with everything you have made, what else is there for you to make."_

" _Oh just some improvements here and there, and maybe some other ones that might come to mind."_

"I see... _I will allow it once this secret is made public. The lab has all some of the best equipment after all."_

" _Thanks Histy."_

The two took their time to look at the beautiful scenery of the nation and the city below. Night's cold winds enveloping the two. Histoire asked questions on what kind of potions Neptune had planned, Neptune explained one of them she had in mind and another one being a secret. A minute passed before Neptune started to shiver from the cold temperature.

" _Let's go back inside. I'm worried about Plutie's Vert, and it's freezing up here."_

" _Very well."_

* * *

Aaaand Neptune was right to be concerned…

Upon entering the room, Uzume and Nepgear dashed onto Neptune's legs, hanging on them like frightened koalas. Similarly, the Lastation sisters were hiding behind Steamax, causing him panic sort of like how he was when Neptune teased him.

As for the reason why they were all so terrified was… Iris Heart. There were screams everywhere, but the one who was the most terrified, cowering in the corner as though her life was about to be taken away, was UD Vert.

" _Naughty Vert… You made the girls all angry. I think some punishment is in order."_ Plutia said, with a smile that sent shivers down Vert's spine.

" _W-w-w-wait! I apologise! I won't do that again!"_

" _What in the hay is going on?!"_ Neptune shouted, gaining the attention of the Gold Third and the other two UD CPUs.

" _Oh, you're back."_ UD Noire said followed by a sigh.

"Well, _Plutia was napping and Vert was going around basically kidnapping everyone two turned into a child and even the twins too. None of them were happy about it. And on top of that, K-Sha really didn't like Vert trying to kidnap Uni or other me and took her weapons out. We managed to stop her from shooting, but all that ruckus woke up Plutia."_

" _And so she's going to punish the one responsible. Got it."_ Neptune said, sighing as well.

Looking around, all the HD CPUs and candidates were frozen in terror that was known as Iris Heart, and K-Sha was found tied up with what one could describe as an excessive amount of rope, with a leash held by C-Sha.

Screams of terror and agony could be heard for the next few hours, but not before everyone else had evacuated to the Planeptune sisters' room so no kids would have to witness such a scene.


	8. Chapter 8 - BedTime 2

Due to Plutia's and Peashy's request to sleep with Neptune, the two were to sleep in Uzume's room, however due to the lack of space on the bed, the two had to sleep on the futons laid out nearby. Similarly, thanks to B-Sha, the Gold Third members got to share the sibling's room with IF, Compa and child Neptune. The rest of the UD CPUs were left to sleep in the living room. As for Steamax, he decided to sleep in the kitchen because he was too shy to sleep next to girls.

Everyone was in their rooms, but the lights weren't out yet (except for the kitchen and Histoire's room) as all the girls were busy chatting with one-another.

In the living room, the UD CPUs were lying on their futons. Noire in the middle, Blanc to her left and Vert to her right. Vert was completely out of it, mentally speaking. The three were mostly silent until, a question came to Noire's mind.

" _Hey Blanc?"_

" _Yeah, what it is?"_

" _What Neptune said, they were on bad terms with each other in the beginning right?"_

" _Yeah, what about it?"_

" _Do you think… We would have been like that too? I mean, if were in their shoes, do you think we would've been like them?"_

" _Probably. We didn't exactly start out in good terms either."_

" _I suppose… but still. I was already close with Plutia even before I became a CPU. It sounded like they had it a lot rougher than us."_

" _That's true… I guess we were just lucky."_ blanc said as she turned her back towards Noire to sleep.

" _I guess so…"_ Noire turned to look at Vert.

" _Vert, you ok?"_ Noire asked.

" _Eh? Ehehe… I'm fi~ne. Goodnight~."_ With that, Vert went silent, only hearing her breathing. It was not certain whether Vert fell asleep or lost consciousness. But considering what they've been through, Noire assumed it was the former.

" _Night"_ Noire replied. Noire turned the lights off (thankfully, the living room lights could be turned off remotely) before she closed her eyes to sleep.

With that, the three entered their dreamlands, a bit earlier than others.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Gold Third members were busy setting up their futons, which took longer than it should have, as they were all getting distracted with their catch up conversation with IF and Compa. It didn't help that they decided to tie up K-Sha. A decision made based on how she was acting earlier. She was rolled up like a sushi roll in her blanket and the blanket was reinforced with several ropes in ways one could only describe as 'overly complex'. It was like an art they had created.

" _But still, I'm surprised you three are sleeping here instead."_ B-Sha said, looking at IF on the top bunk with Compa and child Neptune on the bottom.

" _We were originally meant to sleep in the new room built for Uzume. But Nep asked us to switch rooms. Seemed like Nepgear wanted to sleep with Nep as well. But as you can see, these beds aren't fit for three people."_

"Huh _. Ok."_

" _HMPMPHHPMHPPHH!"_ Muffled screams of K-Sha could be heard from behind.

After they finished setting up their futons, B-Sha walked over to the beds, where the child Neptune was looking at her.

" _Hey, bi- I mean small Nep-Nep. You look really cute in that outfit."_

" _Thanks. By the way, Have we met before, miss?"_

" _Yeah. We all went on an adventure together. You, me, Nep-Nep, Uzume. Everyone here, except for those other adult CP- actually, I guess I don't really need to explain, since you will get your memories back in two days anyway."_ With a smile, B-Sha turned and walked towards her futon. The other Gold Third members were already tucked in their blankets ready to sleep ( _except K-Sha, who was furiously trying to get out of hers)_.

" _Goodnight everyone."_ B-Sha said, as she laid down to sleep.

" _Night"_ C-Sha, IF and Compa replied.

" _Goodnight"_ surprisingly, it was E-Sha that replied.

" _Hmmmppmph!"_

* * *

As for Neptune and her group.

" _Boo. I wanted to sleep together with Neppy…"_

" _Sorry. No can do, Plutie. Already got these two little devils. And like I said, the bed can't fit five people."_ The bed could fit one more person, however that meant leaving out the other, so to keep things fair, it was decided to have both Peashy and Plutia sleep on the futons instead.

" _Neptuna. Neptuna. Did you really make the potion that turned everyone into young girls?"_ Peashy asked. It was a bit strange since Neptune didn't expect a question like that from Peashy. Not to mention, Peashy said it in a very calm manner.

" _That's right P-ko. Why? Can't trust me?"_ Neptune said jokingly with a smug.

" _No! Not that! Pea wants to know if there was a potion that made Pea look older."_

" _Oh. Well, there are two. One makes you age by 10 years, but the effect is temporary. The other one is permanent, but that one turns your body into a granny. I actually tested the latter one on myself, but I was so shocked I quickly made an antidote."_

Hearing the answer, Peashy went silent. Seemingly thinking of something for a moment, then she asked.

" _Can Pea have the first one?"_

" _Sorry P-ko, the promise with Histy says I can't do that."_

" _But Pea wants to look older! IF and Compa grew, but Pea's stuck like this!"_ Peashy complained. It wasn't an unwarranted complaint. Seeing her two childhood friends who basically grew up together like sisters, to look like an adult made Peashy feel left out.

" _I know. But I can't do anything about it either. But know this P-ko. everyone still loves you the way you are."_ Neptune ended her sentence with a smile.

Peashy was still annoyed at the fact that she wasn't getting any but decided to just quietly lie down and go to sleep.

" _Peashy sure has grown up. She would normally be throwing a tantrum. I guess even if she's physically stuck, she can still grow."_ Neptune said with a warm smile. To her, peashy was almost like a daughter to her. A daughter she hasn't seen in some time.

" _Ehehe. She sure has. Oh! By the way Neppy. Histy said she's getting shares from Planeptune now. So now, she's my younger sister."_

" _Wait really!?"_ Neptune jumped up from hearing that news. It was most certainly surprising to hear that Peashy, who even had a nation of her own, was now a CPU candidate, in a sense.

" _Wait. But getting shares from the same place doesn't mean you are sisters though. I mean, that would mean I'm your younger sister too. Same goes for Nepgear."_

Hearing what Neptune said, Nepgear, who had been lying down and quietly listening, quickly sat up while turning her head towards Neptune to ask with a terrified expression.

" _S-she's our sister?"_ still remembering that horrifying scene from earlier, Nepgear didn't want to believe it.

" _No. Plutie and I were both the CPUs of Planeptune in her dimension. You were too. But you will always be my little sister, Nep jr."_ Nepgear was relieved, she smiled at what Neptune had said then gave a hug as a form of appreciation.

" _Awww~. That's so sweet~!"_ Uzume commented, with a bright smile.

" _Anyway, so Peashy's now officially a Planeptune CPU?"_

" _Y~ep! But she's always dragging me outside… She's so~ energetic, I can't keep up. Rei sometimes helps me out, but she always comes back carried by Peashy."_

" _Oh yeah. What happened to Rei? Is she still working with the mouse and that annoying little girl?"_

" _Yep. She's been helping everyone with making rules, and funding some of our works. She looks really dependable now. No more 'sorry' and Mr Rat and Abnes seems to listen to her now. Oh! What about yours?"_

" _Huh. Well, she's living quietly now. No more of that anti-CPU thing. She seemed like she was still confused about the whole thing though. We let her free after she fixed all the damages." _Looking at the clock set on the table near the bed_ , Neptune realised the time_

 _"Oh. It's getting late, let's go to sleep."_ She flopped back down onto the bed. Immediately, the two next to her snuggled closely to Neptune once again.

" _Night Plu- oh, forgot."_ Neptune quickly got off the bed to turn the lights off. Quickly returning to once again, be Nepgear's and Uzume body pillow for the night.

 _"Night everyone."_

" _Goodnight Neppy."_

 _"Goodnight miss Plutia, Nepgear and sis!"_

 _"Goodnight."_

 _There was no response from Peashy as she had already fallen a sleep._

Plutia looked at Peashy. _"Goodnight Peashy."_ With a smile, Plutia lied down, almost instantly entering the dreamland.


	9. Chapter 9 - Day 2

It was past midday, everyone had already eaten their lunch. Things were mostly the same as the night before. Everyone was chatting away or playing games, Histoire had gone back to her room to get some paper works done, and Plutia was napping as usual. Except for some reason, K-Sha, S-Sha and B-Sha were in front of Neptune in some corner of the living room.

" _Hey Nep-nep. Can you tell us what kind of potions you've made?"_

" _I don't really mind since everything is spilt, and not like you can enter the lab anyway, but why?"_

" _Well, I just want to know because I'm curious. S-Sha says she's interested and K-Sha-"_

" _Have you ever made anything like a love potion!? Can you make some?"_ K-Sha interrupted, quickly closing in on Neptune. Neptune took a step back, surprised and a little bit scared.

" _Uhh. I was never really interested in making a potion like that… and could I have some personal space?"_ K-Sha did not back off and continued to ask.

" _But is it possible to make some!?"_

" _I dunno… But even if I could, I'm not going make one, and I am not going to tell you how to make one either. I feel like a potion like that is going to cause all sorts of problems."_ Neptune answered with a concerned look on her face.

" _I see... I understand."_ K-Sha nodded with a bit of disappointment expressed on her face. Then left quietly to HD Noire's side, watching her play games.

C-Sha sitting next to HD Blanc and was watching her playing games until she saw K-Sha walk with a sad face. She then turned her head towards the corner where Neptune, B-Sha and S-Sha were and became curious of what they were doing. She got up and walked towards the three.

" _What's going on here?"_ C-Sha asked as she arrived.

B-Sha responded. " _Oh_ , w _e were asking Nep-nep what kind of potion she's made. Then K-Sha wanted to know if Nep-nep could make a love potion."_

" _Oh! Can you really make something like that?"_

" _I never really tried, but if there are ingredients for it, I might be able to, but I don't plan to make one even if I got the ingredients."_

Hearing the answer, C-Sha also became interested in the lab.

" _You sound like you know a lot about potions. Now I'm curious, just What kind of potions did you make? They must have been amazing to be kept a secret. Not to mention if one of them can cause something like this."_

" _Well, all the normal stuff like stat boosters and healing medicines that you can mix into your foods, they were distributed to the public. I wasn't allowed to sell anything in Planeptune because Histy said that then people could trace it back towards me. We only sold them outside of Planeptune, since it was harder for other nations to trace back to us. The rest were either potions with side effects, weird potions I made for fun, or failures. In fact, this problem is from one of the failed ones."_

" _Failed?"_ surprisingly, it was S-Sha who asked.

" _Yeah. I originally tried to make it reverse just the person's body to its previous state. To create the ultimate healing and status curing potion. But not only did the potion turn people into five-year-olds, they didn't even mix completely. So instead of reverting one's body to when they were five, it transformed them to a five-year-old, while reverting their memories to when they were five."_

The three Gold Third members wondered how Neptune knew it didn't revert them physically, but looking at the other CPUs, remembered CPU's aren't born like humans.

" _So, did you manage to make a successful one?"_ B-Sha asked, curious of the result.

" _Nope. No matter what I tried, they wouldn't mix like I wanted them to. Not to mention, I was trying to revert them back by only a few minutes to a few hours at most, not all the way to when they were five. By the way, if you are curious, if you drink it at the age below five, your body will still transform to a five-year-old, and since you don't have any memories of the future, that part does nothing."_

" _Wait, how do you know that?"_ C-Sha asked, concerned as to how Neptune managed to get such a result.

" _I tried it on a dogoo."_

" _Oh. Wait, is that allowed? That doesn't sound very ethical."_ C-Sha asked.

" _Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't remember what I just said."_

Both C-Sha and B-Sha took a step back, getting ready to bolt out of there.

" _Just kidding. The potion was temporary, and we let it free after they returned to normal. We also took good care of the little fellow and its parents while the potion was in effect. Now that I think about it, I wonder what happened to them."_

The two were relieved but now the three couldn't really think of anything else to ask. They let Neptune go to which, she escaped to the couch where IF and Compa were sitting.

" _You know compa, I thought you would ask me some questions, you being a nurse and all."_

" _Oh. I did want to ask some questions, but I wasn't sure if Nep-nep would want to talk about them."_

" _It's fine. You can ask me anything."_

" _Ok then… How many potions did you make?"_

" _Fifteen given away and one hundred and thirty three stored away."_

" _A HUNDRED!?"_ IF exclaimed at such a ridiculous number.

" _That's a lot. Then, can you give me an example for the kind of potion you've made?"_ Compa continued.

" _Well… One of them would be one I call the lightning boost."_

" _Lightning boost?"_ IF asked, unimpressed at Neptune's naming sense.

" _Yep. Basically, you can move at a much higher speed. For comparison, you can run at the same speed as the cars on the highway. But your body might not be able to handle it. Worst case scenario, your muscles will tear."_

" _Wow… You made things like that?"_ Compa asked, impressed at the creation of such a potion.

" _That's one of the safer ones. There are actually some chemicals that shouldn't come in contact with another one. When they do, this entire basilicom could be blown to nothing, and that's only from one of the combinations exploding."_

Everyone was surprised. Ehe HD CPUs even paused their game to look at Neptune with horrified expressions.

" _That sounds REALLY scary… Just to be sure… What happens if all of them explode?"_ IF was sweating like waterfall hearing such a warning. She didn't even want to imagine what would happen if all the explosive ones did go off.

It was obvious answering such a question in with all these people around was a cause for concern. Neptune did trust all of them, but this was an information that should have a zero percent chance of leaking. However, with how curious IF looked, Neptune felt the need to answer. She didn't want to keep any more secrets from her best friends. So, Neptune leaned close to IF's ear and whispered, trusting IF's ability to keep it a secret. Neptune knew, if Histoire was there, she would definitely stop Neptune from answering.

" _..."_

" _WHOA—Hmphmph!"_ Before, IF could continue, Neptune covered IF's mouth.

" _Calm down Iffy. All those chemicals are stored separately from each other."_

Hearing that, it did calm IF down a bit. _"But still, is that really enough? I think you really should get rid those."_

" _Oh, don't worry, it's sealed up completely in a meter-thick metal of the hardest kind, and hidden for good measure. Also, I did think about it, but each and every one of them could cause a big problem on their own. So…"_

Everyone listening to the conversation was visibly worried. They couldn't hear what Neptune had whispered but judging by IF's reaction, it was definitely something terrifying. Trying to change the subject, Compa continued with her questions.

" _By the way Nep-nep. What kind of relationship did you have with the other CPUs back then?"_

It was HD Noire that answered, Turning back towards the screen to continue her game with both Verts and HD Blanc.

" _We hated each other to guts. I still do hate her, though not as much now I guess. Honestly, After Purple Heart's talk two days ago,_ _I would've just ignored Histoire and left if it weren't for Uni._ _I was still cautious of Purple Heart until you guys showed up yesterday."_

" _Yes. We barely knew each other. The four of us almost never talked and the few times we did, it was mostly with our weapons instead. We all fought with every intention to kill."_ HD Vert continued, eyes firmly stuck to the screen like Noire.

" _Well, Purple Heart and I did have a few conversations."_ HD Blanc interjected, largely ignored by the HD CPUs.

" _Yeah… Back then, we thought killing the other would be the fasted way to get shares."_ Neptune finished the answer with a sound of sadness evident in her voice. Looking at Neptune, she was slouched down on the couch, looking up. Her mouth was smiling like as if she was feeling nostalgic, but her eyes seemed like she was emotionally in pain. She then continued.

" _Thinking about it now, we were ruthless and savage. But after a while, we got bored of the constant ties and when our sisters born, we decided to change ourselves."_ The room fell silent. The atmosphere was heavy. Like a painful secret was revealed _._ Until HD Noire asked.

" _Huh. Did we?"_

" _Yep. Even Vert changed."_

This time, it was the UD Noire asking. Something didn't quite make sense to her.

" _Wait, but then why did Neptune give out those potions? Wouldn't that just help others?"_

" _This and that were two different things, sort of… At first, I was planning to give them out and use that as a way to get shares. But Histy said that the other nations will most likely reject them and could potentially put Planeptune in danger. Which is why we sold it under a different name. But as time went on, I started to think that everyone should have these potions so... Yeah."_

Compa then asked another question.

" _Will Nep-nep make potions again?"_

" _Ah. I actually asked Histy about it last night. I promised to not make any more crazy potions with the exception of one, and she said ok. But she told me to wait at least until we go public with the whole 'Dr. Phune' thing."_

" _Huh. Got any ideas for what you will make?"_ IF curiously asked, surprised that Neptune got to start making potions again.

" _A few. Though I will still need to test them to see if they work."_

" _Neptuna! Neptuna! Can you make Pea an adult?"_

" _Whoa there P-Ko. That doesn't sound like something you should say in a story rated T. But I can give it a try."_

" _Yay! Pea can become an adult!"_

" _P-ko, be careful of what you are saying. I don't need lawyers coming after me."_

" _Why don't you make a potion that would make you work?"_ UD Noire joked.

" _I would never make such a poison!"_ Neptune shouted, hitting her chest with her right hand proudly. After that, looking around, Neptune realised that one person was missing from the group. One moody ninja that is…

" _Wait. Where's that moody ninja?"_

" _O-over here lady Neptune."_

Looking towards the direction of the voice, there was Steamax, sitting in a corner with an arm behind his back.

" _Oh, there you are. I thought you ran away. Wait, are you hiding something?"_

" _N-no. I was just swapping magazines."_

" _Why would you need to put your arm behind your back to do that…"_ Neptune carefully inspected, before Uni explained.

" _He was really just reading some magazine."_

" _Don't tell me he was reading one of THOSE…"_ Neptune said while remembering the whole 'Five Greed Jutsu' incident.

" _N-no! Lady Neptune! You are misunderstanding!"_ Steamx quickly brought the magazine out from behind his back. Sure enough, the magazine was one published by Dengekiko not long ago.

" _Oh, ok then. You haven't been sending messages to Affimojas have you?"_ Neptune was still wondering the reason for one of his arm being behind his back.

" _N-no. I wouldn't ignore your warnings Lady Neptune. I was just in the middle of switching to a different magazine, I swear."_

" _Ok. Fine, I'll believe you."_ With that confirmation, Neptune leaned back on the couch, only to switch her attention to S-Sha, who was standing next to her.

" _I want to see all the potions you've made."_

" _Huh? Sure, I don't mind as long as you promise me two things. You promise me to not touch ANYTHING in the room besides the floor you stand on. And honestly answer me. Why do you want to see them?"_

" _I am interested, and I promise."_

Neptune stared at S-Sha conflicted. While S-Sha has proven herself to be the most sensible one out of the group, the fact that she wanted to look at them only because she was interested was a bit weak. Regardless, she agreed but she still needed to see if Histoire would allow it.

" _Ok. I'll let Histy know and see if I can give you a tour later."_

This answer was the start of an avalanche. With an approval for S-Sha, everyone else requested. Except for Steamax, who, despite wanting to, decided to not to cause too much trouble for the CPU, who was being overwhelmed. However only IF, Compa, B-Sha, Uzume and Nepgear were accepted.

There was obviously an uproar from this decision from everyone else, but Neptune held strong, even transforming into her HDD form to signify her seriousness. Her reason for accepting the five was because they were part of Planeptune. IF, Compa and B-Sha paid regular visits and were basically the same as residents of the basilicom, while Nepgear and Uzume were actual residents of this basilicom. As for why everyone else was rejected, it was because there would be too many people to look out for.

She did promise them however, to separately give them a tour after going public. Spoiler alert, it resulted in 8 days of tours. Plutia with Peashy, and Peashy was to be carried by Purple Heart while Plutia was to never to leave Purple Heart's sight. Similarly, the HD Noire and Blanc came with their sisters, and were told to never let go of each other's hands and were to never leave Neptune's sight. UD Noire and Blanc came separately. As for both Verts, their hands were cuffed behind their backs just to be safe, much to their displeasure from the lack of trust. As for C-Sha, she came along with K-Sha.


	10. Chapter 10 - Night 3

Dinner was over and just as she promised, Neptune and the six entered the room. Upon entering, Neptune locked the door, momentarily causing panic for everyone else besides S-Sha. Meanwhile, Histoire was on standby outside just in case anything happened in the lab.

" _Relax, I'm just locking the door so people can't just rush in like summer sale. Histy's waiting outside just in case anything happens to us as well."_

Everyone else took a deep breath to calm down. They had initially thought something was going to happen when Neptune locked the door. After all, none of them thought locking the door was necessary.

" _So, S-Sha, what made you so interested?"_ Neptune asked, still sceptical of S-Sha's reasoning.

" _This."_ She brought out a bottle that the three humans immediately recognised.

" _Isn't that the bottle from that time when you tried to heal big Nep?"_ IF asked just to be sure.

" _She woke up instantly from just a drop."_ Compa commented

" _Do you always carry one?"_ B-Sha was curious.

" _It is, and I always carry one."_

" _Huh? What's that drink?"_ Neptune asked. Due to the fact that at the time, Neptune and the other HD CPUs were captured, she never got to see what the drink was.

" _It's an energy drink with several different herbs and energy drinks mixed into it."_ S-Sha briefed.

The drink itself didn't sound too bad from what Neptune had just heard but more than that, Neptune wondered why someone like S-Sha would even care about other people's complaints, but the answer was shown immediately after.

" _I Kept telling you, those herbs don't mix well with the energy drinks."_ E-Sha explained, seeming a little disappointed or annoyed.

" _But then the drink wouldn't be as effective."_ S-Sha replied flatly. Looking back at Neptune, she continued.

" _This is why. Is it possible to make a potion that is just as effective without the taste?"_

" _Hmmm… You are going to need to explain in more detail about the drink. But since I'm giving a tour right now, you are going to need to give me the details later."_

With that, Neptune began the tour, explaining all the potions the group was curious about, slowly leading up to her bench with all the equipment. Looking at all the technology that was never seen anywhere else, everyone but S-Sha were intrigued and to some degree excited but were also concerned due to the sheer size of the machines.

" _Neptune. What are those big machines attached to the ceiling?"_ Nepgear asked while pointing at said machines. They looked like some powerful machines capable of instantly liquify or even evaporate solid objects. However…

" _Those are just holders."_

" _Holders?"_ IF ask, very much disappointed.

" _Yeah. I used to make a lot of potions, so I needed ways to make multiple at once. The big ones over here were used to hold things that are really heavy. Turns out, some of the potions I made were super dense and weighed a lot more than they seemed. You see the small one over there?"_ Neptune pointed to a test tube behind the group. On the bottom level of a shelf next to the bench, there was tube that appeared almost empty. The small amount of liquid that was there, looked similar to that of liquid metal that was tinted in light blue.

" _That little thing weighs about half a kilo."_

" _What!? That doesn't sound believable."_ IF dismissed Neptune's explanation.

" _You can go lift it if you want. The potion doesn't do anything unless consumed, and all it does is harden your skin by fixing the positions of all the atoms in your skin cells relative to the atoms around it. The duration of the hardening is based on the amount consumed, and that only lasts for 5 minutes. By the way, because of the way the skin hardens, it also stops you from moving as well."_

" _Right."_ As IF replied, she grabbed the potion off the shelf.

" _Wow, it really is heavier than it looks."_

While Compa, Nepgear and S-Sha were watching IF hold in a test tube with a surprised face in amusement, B-Sha and Uzume were looking around until Uzume found a potion that gained her interest. It was a tube mostly filled, with colours slowly changing.

Uzume found the changing colours so pretty, which prompted her to take a closer look.

" _Wow! This looks so pretty! Sis, what's this one?"_ Uzume pointed at the potion and asked the question with a bright smile, excited to know what the potion could do. The question had also gotten B-Sha's attention.

" _Huh? Oh, be careful Uzume. That's a chameleon potion. Anything the liquid touches will alter its appearance to be transparent. The effects are permanent too, and if you drink that, the only thing others will see are some floating clothes, including your underwear."_

Hearing the explanation, Uzume quickly retreated to Neptune's side. B-Sha on the other hand, wondered how the test tube was still visible.

" _Wait, then how come we can still see the tube?"_

" _Ah, there's a plastic foil in the tube, so the liquid isn't touching the tube itself. You can't see it, but there should be some-"_ As Neptune was moving her arm to point at a location, she hit an invisible flask that tipped over. Luckily the flask didn't fall off the bench or break, at least from the sounds of it.

" _Oops."_

* * *

The group spent a hour and a half looking around the lab, before Compa remembered a question she was meaning to ask earlier, before everything went to chaos with everyone shouting and crowding around Neptune to enter the lab.

" _Oh, that's right. I forgot to ask, but Nep-nep. What got you interested in making potions?"_

Hearing the question, the rest of the group looked at Neptune with varying degrees of curiosity.

" _Well, it's not much, but it was from one of our fights. It was after the four of us fought for over half a day. We ended the fight because we were all too beat up to continue. We fought just outside of one of Lastation cities, and I had it the worst because they decided to gang up on me near the end. Thanks to that, I couldn't even stay in HDD to fly back, and I was too beat up to risk fighting an ancient dragon on the way while limping. But at the time I had read somewhere, I forgot where, but the thing was about making a potion on the go or something like that. So, I tried that, healed myself and managed to come home safely. But making it was so interesting, I asked Histy to if I could have a lab to make potions. There were lots of problems since I was just starting out but seeing the effects of all the potions I made was just so exciting I ended up going a bit overboard."_

The group fell silent. For S-Sha, she wasn't really interested in such a history and had nothing else to say. For B-Sha, she felt sorry for Neptune that such a thing happened. For Compa and IF, hearing that kind of event had occurred to someone they knew their entire life, left them feeling concerned. Concerned of what other kind of history their lazy-yet-lovable friend kept secret. As for Nepgear and Uzume, they were sad to know the four CPUs had that kind of past. For as long as the group could remember, the four CPUs were always competitive with each other, but never hostile. So, hearing that they fought till they could barely even return back home was surprising, to say the least.

Neptune realised the atmosphere was turning gloomy, so she decided to make a little joke from what she remembered in the fight.

" _No need to look so sad, I got the chance to smother my face on Vert's chest because of that. Though, that was to hold me while Blanc tried to bat me to all the way to the PC continent."_

It most certainly helped lightening the mood, IF had returned to playing the straight man.

" _You had such an intense fight that you could have died, but you had enough time to enjoy that?"_

" _We fought for more than half a day! We were all really tired and they felt as soft as pillows,"_ Neptune's suddenly lowered her voice while blushing red. _"I ended up 'massaging' them with my hands as well…"_

IF facepalmed hard enough to cause a loud slapping sound.

" _But hey, because of that, Blanc got so angry she ended up breaking their alliance trying to take us both out."_ Remembering what had happened, Neptune couldn't help but start giggling. Checking the time that was displayed above the door, Neptune realised it was nearly bedtime.

" _Anyway, I think that's about all there is to show. Let's leave now, it's nearly bedtime." Neptune walked over and unlocked the door, surprising Histoire. Histoire had been busy scheduling the plans for the whole week._

As they were leaving, Neptune thoroughly inspected everyone and everywhere in the room. To the group, this almost paranoid level of care was very much unlike Neptune. But remembering what Neptune had whispered, IF understood the reason why Neptune had to be.

Walking outside the room, Histoire was also inspecting everyone, in case Neptune missed any.

" _Everyone, please go get ready to sleep." "Ok." Histoire locked the lab door then left for the living room along with the other seven._

* * *

Upon returning to the living room, the group ( _with the exception of S-Sha_ ) was absolutely surprised at the mess that was created in the living room. There were cloths and cottons everywhere. Following the trail of cloths, they managed to find the source of the mess, it was Plutia. She had decided to create dolls of the HD CPUs and Gold Third members. According to UD Noire, everyone helped Plutia make their dolls. And since everyone was working on their own, it ended up taking up the entire room.

"We _re you making plushies again Plutie?"_

" _Oh, Neppy you're back~! Yep! I made dolls of everyone. There's Noire~…"_ Continuing on, Plutia started pointing at all the dolls that were being held by the real counterparts and the dolls of S-Sha, B-Sha and Uzume that were on the table. All the dolls had their clothes matching the outfit the real ones were wearing. The group looked at their dolls in awe, however there were two dolls missing, a doll of Neptune and Nepgear. At the time, Neptune didn't really mind, as she was more surprised at how all those dolls were made while she was giving a tour. Nepgear on the other hand, felt a little left out.

The dolls were indeed cute, however the mess did annoy Histoire. The room seemed less a place a CPU lives and more like a child care centre. _"Everyone, please clean up this mess."_

Everyone responded with an affirmative. Putting their dolls on the couch temporarily. Unfortunately for the Lastation sisters, due to how similar the two looked, it took them some time to figure out which doll was which, until Plutia came in with a clear answer. Everyone else wondered why they couldn't just take them, but for the two, they felt awkward about having a doll of their sister. Saying how 'it could give the wrong message'.

* * *

Everyone was in their bedrooms. In Neptune's group, Uzume thanked Plutia for the dolls. However, Neptune did remember one thing.

" _Hey, by the way, is there a doll of me?" Nepgear was next to Neptune and stared at Plutia with a little bit of disappointment in her eyes._

" _No. You and Nepgear already have one back at my basilicom remember?"_

" _Oh yeah, I forgot about that. They are with the all the other dolls."_

* * *

Meanwhile, all the humans were chatting away. Most of the conversation was C-Sha and K-Sha asking questions of what the lab was like. The child Neptune and croire simply listened, most of their questions being asked by the two members.

C-Sha commented, listening to how Neptune started making potions. _"So, Blanny and others really did have that kind of past..."_ Listening to the CPUs' history, the room fell silent. Before C-Sha spoke again.

" _They weren't kidding when they said they fought to kill. I thought they were just exaggerating, since they are all so close to each other."_

" _Yeah, I guess not everything is as happy as they seem."_ IF said while lying down onto her bed, looking at the ceiling, still thinking of the possible history her friends might be keeping secret.

The mood was getting heavy, no one knew how to reply to that statement, but thinking back to the tour and all the potions Neptune had explained, Compa remembered the reason why the whole tour happened.

" _By the way Miss S-Sha. Aren't you going to give Nep-nep the details about the drink?"_

" _Yes. I have just written up the list of ingredients used."_ Saying that, S-Sha got up and left the room.

" _Wait, what drink?"_ C-Sha asked.

" _The one she used in Zero dimension."_ IF replied.

" _Oh... that one."_


	11. Chapter 11 - Day 3

It was past 11am, with breakfast consumed, Neptune went into her lab with S-Sha again.

" _So, I looked at the list, and I want to taste test it. Depending on how they are mixed, I think it should be fine."_

" _I see... here."_ S-Sha handed the drink to Neptune.

Taking a few drops from the drink, Neptune immediately tried to spit it out while coughing.

" _Bleh. What is this!?"_

To give Neptune a more clear image of the drink, S-Sha began explaining her brewing process.

 ** _One explanation later._**

" _Hmmm… I think you forgot a few steps there."_ Neptune interrupted.

After coughing a few more times, she explained the missing steps.

" _Well… You forgot about four steps to be exact. You need to…"_

 ** _Several minutes of explaining later._**

" _Is that all?"_

" _Actually, you might want to add some drinks to give it some flavour. It might weaken the effect a bit, but it's not going be by much. And it's going to make it a lot easier to drink."_

" _I see. Thank you. I will try it when I have time."_ S-Sha took the bottle then she nodded to show her appreciation.

Suddenly a loud scream could be heard coming from the living room.

" _KYAAAA!"_ From the voice, the loudest one was Noire. Along with it, a few more could be heard.

" _Ah… The effect must have worn off. Let's go."_ Neptune pushed S-Sha out as she left the lab.

* * *

Oh, how Neptune wished she had a camera with her… Before her very eyes was chaos, but it wasn't bad, not at all. For Blanc, her waist was showing. At the same time, she was trying to rip her shirt off as she was suffocating. Her skirt on the other hand had broken off, her underwear was also just about ready to rip. For Nepgear, Uni, Noire, Uzume and adult Neptune, everything was ripped in two, and all them were blushing as red as a tomato. They tried to cover their body up as much as possible with their clothes. As for Vert… She too, was covering herself while embarrassed, but unlike others, she was completely naked and her clothes ( _yes, including her underwear_ ) were in pieces around her as though all her clothing had exploded from sheer difference in body size.

" _UGHHUUH!"_ Was the only sounds coming from Blanc as she struggled for oxygen. It was impressive how the shirt hasn't been ripped from the size difference, or at least from Blanc trying to rip it herself.

" _Guu… This is way too embarrassing… So lame..."_ Tears could almost be seen on the corners of Uzume's eyes.

" _With all these people here, even I'm embarrassed."_ Adult Neptune said.

" _Oh my…"_ Was all Vert could muster, while blushing red.

Oh, turns out Neptune didn't need a camera, at least for Noire _._ It appeared as though K-Sha was moving almost at the speed of light. Moving from one position to another, taking several shots per second. The UD Noire tried to stop her, but following that crazy girl proved difficult.

Steamax on the other hand, had frozen. Perhaps he shut down due to the scenery. One thing for certain was that he was not responding.

After a few seconds of panic, the CPUs remembered they could transform. Luckily for them, they never needed to change their HDD outfits, leaving poor adult Neptune naked all alone.

Finally returning to reality, Neptune quickly ran into her room, bringing out all the clothes everyone wore originally.

" _Thanks, little me."_ Still blushing, adult Neptune said with an awkward smile. She then quickly put the hoodie on first.

" _Thanks, Neptsy."_ Neptune was a little disappointed that Uzume wouldn't call her 'sis' anymore, but accepted that this was how it was meant to be.

" _Thanks Neptune"_ Nepgear said, still slightly embarrassed.

" _Thank you._ " Black Heart thanked Neptune in a calm manner.

" _Thank you, Neptune. I must apologise for the trouble I have caused."_ Green Heart frowned, feeling guilty for her mistake.

" _As long as you understand. Just be careful next time. Ok?"_

Neptune turned to ask the group that was affected by the gas a question.

" _How does everyone feel? The drug's effect should have caused some stiffness all over your bodies and make you all really tired from the sudden growth."_

" _Everything's fine."_ White Heart said while stretching. However, cracks could be heard coming from everyone as they stretched, with a particularly loud one coming from Vert.

" _Oof, that one was painful."_ Vert complained.

After a few minutes, everyone was back in their human form and completely dressed. Steamax was back to his senses. Apparently, he had completely crashed and had to restart. Noire however, did notice something odd about their outfit.

" _You haven't washed these have you?"_ Noire asked.

" _You know me Noire. Last time I tried, everything shrunk and colours were all mixed up. I even tried following the instructions. But I got the same result."_

" _Oopsy, I forgot to wash them."_ Compa said, remembering fact that they had just left the clothes in some corner of the sibling's room.

Usually Nepgear would deal with it, but occasionally, whenever Compa was in the basilicom, she would do the laundry. However, with everything that had happened, she had forgotten about them.

Looking around, Neptune found Nepgear quiet and sulking.

" _What's wrong Nep jr?"_

" _I'm sorry Neptune… I caused this mess by opening the door..."_

" _Aw Don't worry Nep jr. That was probably for the best. Knowing them, Blanc would have just smashed her way in."_

" _Do you take me for some kind of brute?"_ Blanc retorted.

" _Anyway, it's not your fault. I kind of need to apologise too… To both you and Uzume."_

" _Huh? What's there for you to apologize?"_ Uzume asked.

" _Well, I've drugged you both."_

" _Huh? Why?"_ Nepgear's attention was quickly shifted to what Neptune had said.

" _You two found the lab earlier that morning before sunrise. And Histy and I made an agreement to keep the lab a secret no matter what. So, I drugged you both to sleep."_

" _Wait, I don't remember that."_ Uzume replied, unable to believe what Neptune just said.

" _Of course. It had the same memory reverting ingredients in it."_

" _Wait, but isn't the effect temporary?"_ UD Noire asked.

" _No. The transformation effect is temporary, but the memory one is permanent. It's just that mixing the two resulted in both becoming temporary. But on its own, the drug is able to effectively erase your memories. Also, number of hours you lose is based on how much you absorb. It's also why both of you woke up later than usual. The sleeping drug was a bit too strong for that amount. The drug should have reverted your memory back by a few hours."_

Both Uzume and Nepgear weren't sure how to feel about it. Being drugged by your friend or sister wasn't a nice feeling, but they also understood that Neptune and Histoire had a reason for it. Thinking about it for a few moments, Uzume then said.

" _Well, from what Neptsy told us about the lab, it's fine. But it's still not cool to do something like that. You could have just told us to keep it a secret."_

" _I know, but it was an agreement and it was better if you didn't have to keep it a secret knowingly."_ Neptune looked down in shame. She didn't particularly like doing that, but it had to be done.

" _Don't worry Neptune, I understand that you had to."_ Nepgear assured Neptune.

" _Sorry... And thanks, you two."_ Neptune said as she tried to smile. The two smiled back in return.

" _Hmm? But that doesn't explain the headache."_ Uzume wondered. If the memory alter parts were the same, how come the transformation potion not cause any headaches?

" _Oh that… I kind of rammed your head into the door while I was opening them."_ Neptune was a bit embarrassed about the fact that she managed to do that twice.

" _Couldn't you have just transformed and give us a piggyback?"_ Uzume asked.

" _I was tired, and I forgot. It was like 4 am by the time Histy and I finished fixing up the door and upgraded its security. And even with that, the door was still so easily hacked. Honestly I'm not sure whether to be worried about the lab security or be amazed at Nep Jr's hacking skills."_ Neptune looked towards the lab door with disappointment.

" _Ehehe~."_ Nepgear smiled, taking what Neptune had just said as compliment.

" _Well, now that this is all over, you are all free to leave now."_ Histoire announced.

" _Ah. I think I might stay here for one more night, getting to take a break like that wasn't bad."_ HD Noire said, surprising everyone. Following Noire, everyone else also agreed to stay, except for one, Steamax _._

" _I will take my leave, general must be wondering where I've been. I had only planned to visit lady Uni for a few hours, t-to help her out since I had some free time."_

" _Very well, thank you for cooperating with us."_ Histoire thanked Steamx and bowed.

" _Just don't go telling anything about them turning into kids until my announcement, you hear me?"_ Neptune demanded.

" _Y-yes! I understand."_

With that, Steamax left, explaining what had happened. Unfortunately, telling the truth was the only way to not lose trust from Affimojas. Steamax also begged Affimojas to not publish anything in regards to the CPUs turning into five-year olds, lest they both be turned to scraps ( _not really, just getting jailed_ ).

* * *

Two hours have passed since then and everyone was relaxing in the living room.

" _Sorry Uni. About the whole forgetting you I mean. I must have scared you."_

" _It's ok Noire. That wasn't your fault. By the way Noire, hearing about your relationship with others before we were born, I'm curious, how you were like back then? I know that you and the other CPUs didn't get along, but I want to know how you were like back then."_

Noire looked at Uni quietly, wondering what to do. None of the CPUs wanted others to know just how they were like. Noire looked around before replying.

" _Maybe once we get back..."_ Noire smiled as she pat Uni's head.

Meanwhile, Blanc thanked Neptune for keeping Rom and Ram safe from the gas.

" _Thanks Neptune. For protecting Rom and Ram."_

" _No worries, I was just grabbing whoever I could."_

Right behind Neptune, Peashy was staring at adult Neptune.

" _This Neptuna is so big! She looks more like an adult than Neptuna."_

" _Ouch, that hurt P-ko..."_

" _Aw. Thanks."_ Adult Neptune was giving Peashy a head pat. Adult Neptune then looked around, to find Plutia next to her, like she wanted to talk to her.

" _Hello lady Plutia. I haven't been to your Planeptune in ages, but wow, you look really cute. I never got to see you during my time living there."_

" _Ehehe~ Nice to meet you big Neppy. You really do look more mature."_

" _Oh, By the way big me, I was also the CPU of Plutie's dimension Planeptune along with Nepgear."_

" _Ooh, I never knew that! I do somewhat remember someone people talking about Planeptune having multiple CPUs, but I never knew it was true and that little me was part of it!"_

" _She was there long enough before you born."_ Croire joined in on the conversation.

" _Oh, Really? How long have you been in that dimension little me?"_ Adult Neptune was surprised.

" _About 20 years. More accurately 23 years for me and 20 years for Nep jr."_

" _Wow~. How old are you now then?"_ Adult Neptune couldn't help but ask.

" _Big me, you know you shouldn't ask that kind of question. Especially not against CPUs."_

" _Sorry~. I couldn't help but be curious."_

Nepgear was listening to the conversation, but then wondered as something didn't quite make sense to her. _"Wait, if we were there only for 20 years and that was before other Neptune was born, how come she looks like an adult?"_

" _Did you forget about the difference in time flow for each dimension?"_ Croire replied.

" _Ah…"_

" _Anyway, let's have some fun!"_ While shouting, Neptune ran for her console, the other HD CPUs joining in. The four CPUs started playing the game Blanc had brought over before the whole incident began once again.

" _Let's play together, Rom, Ram."_ Nepgear said, gaining disappointed looks from the twins.

" _Boo… I liked it when you called us big sisters."_ Ram said out loud, Rom nodding quietly from the side.

" _We aren't going to call you that."_ Uni stated, as she took out her Ngear.

The four candidates started playing their game next to their sisters. Everyone else, watching the eight play. Now it was a proper sleep over party, just a lot larger than they had expected.

Histoire of course, wasn't too happy about the whole party but let them stay as she was sure everyone was tired from the after effects of the potion. Well, the HD CPUs would be anyway, as for everyone else… Not so much.


	12. Chapter 12 - BedTime 3

" _Well, it's time to go to sleep. It's already past our usual bedtime."_ Noire announced as she began walking towards the guest room. Sure enough, it was past midnight.

" _Wait!"_ Neptune shouted. Everyone stopping to looked at her.

" _Now that it's a proper sleep over, can't have everyone sleeping separately!"_ Neptune stormed off to get all the futons that were in other rooms, dumping them down in the living room. Afterwards, she ran off somewhere else, returning with some more futons and Histoire's pillow.

" _Histy, you are sleeping with us too!"_

" _Thank you but no. I would prefer to sleep in my room."_

" _Nope! No can do. It's a sleepover! Can't have you sleeping all alone. I'm even preparing a bed for you."_ Neptune walked over to the couch with a futon in her arms. After laying it down on top of the couch, Neptune then moved all the pillows to the dining table.

Histoire sighed. _"Very well. I will sleep here tonight."_ Neptune smiled as she put Histoire's pillow on the couch along with a blanket.

With a help from everyone else, the futons were set in a few minutes. There was one thing the CPUs did notice…

" _Uhh. What's up with K-Sha?" HD_ Noire asked, looking at the art that was present in front of her.

" _We were worried of what she might do while we were all sleeping. So we decided to tie her up just in case."_ B-Sha answered.

" _Thanks, but that seems a bit too much."_ UD Noire said with cold sweat dropping.

" _There's no need for that. Here- Ugh. how did you tie this? Oh whatever."_ HD Noire summoned her sword and proceeded to cut the rope, freeing K-Sha.

" _Are you sure?"_ B-Sha asked.

" _Remember what happened back when everyone forgot about us? She never did anything… At least as far as I know."_

" _Thank you Noire!"_ K-Sha jumped on HD Noire for a hug. However, the lunge from K-Sha pushed Noire down, causing her to hit her head on the floor.

" _Whoa! Ow."_ Noire rubbed the back of her head.

" _You sure trust her a lot. From what I've seen, I was honestly kind of worried."_ UD Noire said.

" _Don't worry. She's not THAT crazy."_

" _I'm not sure about that. She was asking Nep-Nep if she could make a love potion yesterday."_ B-Sha remembered the small conversation the day before.

" _I-I just want to know if such a thing was possible to make. I-It was something my friends from school were talking about a few days ago."_

Speaking of the day before, Noire remembered the conversation between Neptune, IF and Compa.

" _Oh! that's right, Neptune. You said you were going to start making potions again, right? I was thinking…"_

" _Hm? What about it?"_ Neptune asked, wondering where Noire was going with that question.

"Well, you can sell them in _Lastation, if you want. As long as they will be useful for my nation that is."_

" _Well, they will obviously help anyone who uses them. I will approve them too."_ HD Blanc said.

" _Agreed. You have my approval as well."_ Vert nodded as she said it.

Hearing their approval, Neptune was silent with a surprised expression. Then, the expression changed to a bright smile.

" _Thanks!"_ Neptune hugged the three individually. She was happy to know that she had their trust.

" _I want them too, Neppy~!"_ Plutia shouted. It was a miracle she was still up despite being tucked comfortably in her futon.

" _If my other self is going to say yes, maybe I should try them too…"_ UD Noire followed Plutia, who was then followed by UD Blanc.

" _I don't see any reason to say no."_

Then by UD Vert who finished it up.

" _Neither do I."_

" _Thanks everyone. Cross dimension business sounds interesting."_ Neptune could only smile at everyone being so accepting of her works. Remembering the times back when she made potions, this was a very welcoming change.

Speaking of another dimension, Uzume asked.

" _Oh yeah. Can I visit your dimension? I want to see what it's like."_

" _You are welcome~." "Sure." "you are always welcome." "Gladly."_

" _Ooh! Can I come too?"_ Adult Neptune asked, curious to know how her home dimension was doing.

" _You have me. You can go whenever you want. You used to live there anyway, what's so special about visiting now? It hasn't been that long since you left, at least for that dimension."_

" _Aw. Don't you want to go meet up with your old pal Rei?"_ Neptune said as she crawled into her futon.

" _I don't want to see her like this. This is embarrassing as it is you know, and I don't need her voice of concerns."_

" _That's what you get for causing all that trouble."_ UD Noire retorted.

" _Gee. Sorry for trying to make the history more interesting."_

* * *

It has been about an hour since everyone fell asleep. Well… except for Neptune. She wasn't able to sleep. Not because of anything serious, just Uzume and Nepgear would occasionally roll into her and hug her for a minute or two, before rolling back.

Having given up on sleeping for now, Neptune decided to get up, only to be stopped by the arms of the very same two. Neptune was both annoyed and impressed at how the two stopped her while still asleep. Being unable to leave, Neptune crawled up her futon instead, until her pillow was under her chest. She took out her Ngear, opening a notepad of sorts.

" _Hmm… Ah that one sounds like it will be interesting."_ Thinking of the kinds of potions she wanted to make, Neptune began listing them down and the possible ingredients necessary.

" _What are you doing?"_ Croire whispered.

" _Oh Croire, surprised to see you up. Can't sleep?"_ Neptune whispered back.

" _Not with you constantly tapping away and those two constantly making noise. How is no one else up from all that noise?"_

" _Well, everyone affected by the gas should be sleeping like a rock, since the reverting process at the end uses a lot of energy. Honestly, I'm surprised you are still up, you should be sleeping like a rock as well. As for others, I don't know. Hey, since we are up, want to talk about something?"_

" _What even is there to talk about?"_

" _Well, for starters. How about, what you did before you met Rei. And how you ended up in Plutie's dimension. Oh, also what are you exactly? Mini Histy seemed like she wanted to ask that."_

" _One at time, geez. Let's see… Before I met Rei…Actually you can just read me."_

" _But you are in that book, I can't read your book like that."_

" _The other you did it. I don't know how but she did."_

" _Hmm… Nope. Not going to risk setting you free."_

" _Tsk. Fine. I just travelled between dimensions. Recording everything that happened in that dimension. The dimensional power was something I found during my travels. It was just floating there, between a few dimensions. I found it interesting and carried it around until I got to Ultra dimension. But while exploring, some bright light covered my view and next thing I knew, I was in the CPU memory. I had done my research so I knew what was going on. As for what I am… I… Don't know actually. There is no record of it. And as long as I could remember, I was traveling between dimensions."_

" _Huh. Knowing Histy, I thought you were made by a CPU as well. But then again. I don't really know how mini Histy came to be either."_

There was a moment of silence between the two, as they both tried to think of a possible answer.

" _...Now this is bugging me."_ While Croire's face could not be seen, the silence indicated that she was deep in thought and was starting to get annoyed.

" _Hey, let me out. I really want to find out how I was born."_

" _Nope, going to have to ask big me for that."_

" _Tsk. Fine."_ Croire decided to change the subject to get her mind off the mystery. _"Anyway, you never answered me. What are you doing?"_

" _I couldn't sleep with these two constantly rolling. So, I'm just listing down all the potions that comes to mind."_

" _Huh. You really do like making them don't you. I always thought you were just a lazy ditz."_

" _That's mean. I only played around to try and think of a new hobby. Just so you know, working is never going to be a hobby."_

" _So, what kind of potions are you thinking about? Depending on the answer I might hang out with you instead."_

" _Wait, I thought you wanted to find out- whatever. I'm thinking of making one that can harden only a part of a body. I have a similar one in my lab, but that hardens the entire body's skin, and that also stops people from moving. I'm thinking of how to make it apply only to the part the liquid touches. And-"_

" _Mmm… Neptune…?"_ Nepgear woke up rubbing one of her eyes, Most likely woken up by the conversation happening above her head.

" _Shh… Don't worry Nepgear, just go back to sleep."_

" _Huh? Ok..."_ With that, Nepgear fell asleep once again, unaware of the fact that she was hugging Neptune like a body pillow.

" _Anyway, as I was saying, I'm also thinking of making one that gives X Ray vision. Temporary effect of course. This one is more for personal use."_

Croire could immediately tell what that was for.

" _Pervert."_

" _Ehehe. Can't argue against that one"_

The two were silent once again, only hearing the sounds of Neptune tapping away and rolling sounds from Uzume and Nepgear.

" _Hmm… And I think that's about it."_ Neptune turned off her Ngear.

" _Can't think of anything else?"_

" _There is actually one more, but this one is a secret."_

" _What it is? Tell me."_

" _Nope. It's a secret for a reason."_

Croire's sigh could be heard from the notebook.

" _Fine. Is it going to be something interesting? answer me that at least."_

" _Oh, it will be. Histy and Noire might get a bit angry at me though."_

That answer alone was enough convince Croire to stay with Neptune.

" _Let me know when you make it, I want to see it."_

" _Sure. Anyway, I'm going to try and go to sleep again. Goodnight."_ Neptune put away the Ngear and placed her pillow under her head. This did mean Neptune was almost half off the futon, but it was better than feeling stuffed from being hugged by people from both sides.


	13. Chapter 13

A Week had passed since the incident and it was time for public announcement. Everyone had already gone back to their respective nations and homes the day after the CPUs returned to their normal forms. Upon their return, Noire had sent a message to Histoire, thanking her for keeping a lot of her work on schedule. Blanc had sent a box of Blanc manju as both an apology and as thanks, while Vert sent several boxes of tea herbs of different kinds. Umio had also returned the day before the announcement and was updated by Uzume on what had happened during his absence. He was surprised at everything he had heard. From Neptune's secret to visitors from another dimension. As for Croire, she asked adult Neptune to stay with Neptune as well, much to adult Neptune's surprise.

Meanwhile, Neptune herself, had been busy doing specific quests with Nepgear. Nepgear initially wondered why Neptune chose those quests, however it soon became apparent that those quests were close to the areas of interest for Neptune and her potions, but Nepgear could not really tell what kind of potions Neptune had planned. When Nepgear asked, Neptune only replied with a vague "It's useful for making all sorts of potions."

* * *

Both Histoire and Neptune stood at the basilicom entrance, behind the stage set for the announcement.

" _Are you ready Neptune? Honestly, I did not expect Journalists from other nations to come as well."_

" _Yep! I'm sure the others wanted to spread the news to their nations as well. They should be careful though~. I might end up taking some shares with this news."_

Histoire sighed at Neptune's rather scary joke. She hoped that it wouldn't result in other CPUs getting hostile. Of course, with how close everyone was now, she could assume none of them would **really** be hostile to one another.

" _Just go and tell everyone what happened."_

" _Don't worry Histy, I know what I need to do."_

" _Very well. Good luck Neptune."_

" _Ok. See you again soon!"_

Neptune walked up the stairs leading up to the stage. The stage was literally in front of the basilicom entrance, effectively blocking the doorway, why they couldn't just place the stage a bit further, Histoire remembered asking the first CPU that very question, to which the answer she got was just some giggle.

On the way up, Neptune transformed into Purple Heart.

Now standing on the stage, Purple Heart couldn't even see the ground besides the stage she was on, Only people, buildings and cameras as far as her eyes could see. The crowd was mostly citizens of Planeptune with a few people from the other nations mixed into the crowd. There were cameras just about everywhere as well. Some on stage, some down within the audience and some flying in the sky. Neptune could only wonder if all of that was necessary. It wasn't like she was announcing something major like a declaration of war or anything. Neptune took a deep breath, taking a moment to think about how she should explain everything. Once she was done, she took another deep breath and began to speak.

" _Hello denizens of Gamindustri. I have a confession to make. It is in regards to the mysterious doctor known as Dr. Phune. The one that died only 2 years after her sudden appearance. Truth is, she never died. After all, she was never real to begin with. Her true identity is actually me. I know most of you cannot believe me, but this is the truth..."_

Purple Heart then went on about how Dr Phune came to be and subsequently, the kind of environment the CPUs used to live, all while keeping most of the information about the lab itself hidden.

* * *

"… _And so, we decided to seal all the potions away and killed 'her' off in order to avoid any suspicion."_

The crowd was silent, most were just busy listening to Purple Heart. But for the kids, hearing the history between the CPUs had dispelled an illusion that had been cast on them even before their birth. However, in that silence, several laughter could be heard coming from near the front.

" _What is it? I don't see anything to really laugh about."_ Purple heart asked the group of what appeared to be men and women in their forties and above. There was one thing everyone in the group had in common, they all had a white coat on them. In fact, she recognised some of them, she saw them and occasionally even had talks with them during her visits to Compa's workplace. One of the man who was in his forties started speaking.

" _We are sorry lady Neptune. We did not mean to be rude. It is just that, we already knew that Dr Phune was you."_

" _Huh!? W-What!? How!?"_ Purple Heart was completely surprised at that answer. The secret was kept tight lip and any potential clues were altered to redirect anyone investigating in the wrong direction. Even Histoire helped in covering it up!

" _Well, it did take us quite some time, but we deduced it by three simple facts. The simple fact that no one had ever met her in person, the fact that they were being distributed for free in Planeptune, and the fact that they managed to distribute their works to other nations despite not being in any large company. If there were only the first two, we might have simply come to the conclusion that it was someone that worked in the guild or something. Or a really shy person. But that last one gave it away."_

Purple Heart was completely frozen in shock, and while Histoire couldn't be seen as she was in the basilicom, she too was frozen in surprise. A few seconds after, both Histoire and Purple Heart face palmed, very much feeling stupid for leaving such an obvious clue.

As for the rest of the crowd, there were some sceptics before, but had now believed what Neptune said, thanks to the evidence brought by the doctors. However, now there were lots of chatter among the audience. While it was difficult to make out what people were talking about, there were questions that Purple Heart heard clearly. _"Is it all true? I know they fought in the past, but did they really go that far?"_

Neptune closed her eyes, once again, thinking of how answer those questions.

" _Thank you everyone for believing me. And in regards to the question I just heard, it is true."_

Purple Heart frowned. No matter how many times she talked about this topic, she could only feel shame. The other three CPUs that were watching the announcement frowned as well. While they couldn't hear the question, Purple Hearts expression had told them all it needed to, and just like Purple Heart, the other three could only feel shame.

" _We CPUs have always shown ourselves as kind and brave. But back then, this extended only to the citizens of our own nations. If something were to happen one of us or our nation, the rest of us would have done everything to make it worse… And we would have done it all with a smile."_

Everyone looked at Purple Heart, who was not smiling like her usual self, but rather looked dead serious. For those who were at the front, they could see Purple Heart's right hand was clenched and shaking.

" _But even with all this, please, keep your faith in us. We have changed ourselves and we will keep on working together."_ Purple Heart bowed. The four CPUs were always scared that if people knew their past, the people would lose their faith in their CPUs. After all, who would trust such a cold and savage CPU who would not mind the death of the people just because those people weren't their own?

One of woman that was also near the front of the crowd spoke up. Purple Heart lifter her head up and immediately recognised who it was, it was the old lady that occasionally gave her sweets whenever she was playing with the kids nearby.

" _I believe you my dear. You've always been so kind. And you girls have done a lot for us."_ The lady gave a gentle smile towards Purple Heart. Following that, the doctors who were laughing earlier also said several things, unfortunately they were incomprehensible due to all of them speaking at once, but one thing for sure was that, their tones were positive. The rest of the crowd quickly became noisy, all shouting and cheering. Purple Heart was once again frozen but this time in awe. The large crowd of people cheering and accepting what she said. With a smile forming on her face, Purple Heart regained her confidence. She raised her hand, signalling the audience for silence.

" _I also have an announcement to make. I have decided to start making potions once again. I plan on distributing them all across Gamindustri and even across dimensions. However, unlike many of those that are now being sold in stores, these ones will be directly shipped from the basilicom. The reason being, some of these potions will require more regulation compared to others. I have already gained approval from other CPUs. And while there won't be much for now, you may look forward to the kinds of potions that will be available. That is all. Thank you all for listening."_

Purple Heart bowed her head down as to show her appreciation before turning around and walking off the stage.

Upon entering the basilicom, Histoire quickly greeted then began yelling.

" _Welcome back Neptune. However, I must ask… What made you think that you could just decide to ship them from here!? Not even mentioning the lab, we don't even have the room to store all those potions because they are already occupied by all the ones you have already made!"_

Purple Heart giggled before answering.

" _Don't worry, all of them will be made on order. I know that we don't have any room, and I don't even want to store them. Also everyone in the basilicom knows we have a few labs besides that one. And if there are a lot of orders, I could have some people help me make them."_

Histoire sighed then nodded, agreeing to Neptune. It was clear her stomach was hurting again… Just thinking about the fact that the basilicom, a place where CPUs reside, was turning into some oversized chemistry lab, only caused stress for Histoire. As Histoire was covering her stomach with one hand and massaging her head with the other, Purple Heart transformed back and asked.

" _You want some Dr Neppers again?"_

" _Yes please, though it still does not fix the root of the problem."_

" _Don't worry Histy. Nothing bad is going to happen. Everything is coming to a close, so smile!"_ Neptune tried to reassue Histoire as she handed a cup of new Dr Nepper she made just recently.

After taking a big chug, Histoire replied.

" _I suppose."_ Histoire sighed before she began to smile as she put the cup down on a table nearby. Histoire was still happy that everything went mostly smooth, and happy that Neptune could start enjoying her hobbies again. She always did feel a little guilty for stopping Neptune from enjoying her hobbies.

 **A/N: Honestly, there were parts I wasn't sure how I should show the characters' expressions or transition from one topic to another (applies to most of the chapters really). Anyway, next chapter is the last chapter.**


	14. Chapter 14 - The End

Two Weeks had passed since Neptune's public announcement. There were three potions being shipped all across Hyperdimension and Ultradimension. Thankfully, Neptune had already made ones similar to these and was able to make these new ones with relative ease, with the exception of one.

First was a simple night vision potion, however due to the affect being always on for the duration, it was advised to only be used in dark locations unless they wanted to be blinded for who knows how long. This did annoy some as the users had to wait out the duration.

Second one was a combo of two different liquids. One was the liquid which would harden when in contact with the other one. Through the combination of the two, people were able to make walls and shields to help in their adventure. The hardened liquid came in handy for adventures as one millimetre of it was harder than half a meter-thick concrete. However, the effects being temporary was a big downside as it only lasted ten minutes at most. The fact that this required two parts was also a bit annoying and the set costed a fair bit to make each time, but it was the closest Neptune could get to making a useful hardening potion.

The last potion was a slow-mo potion that as the name implied, would slow down a person's perception of time. It being very useful for guild agents who often fight dangerous monsters, meant that it was the most popular one out of the three. However, this also had a side effect of users feeling nauseous after a while. This was mostly due to their bodies not moving as fast as their minds were thinking, creating a feeling of disconnect between the body and mind. The effect duration was based on the amount consumed. The potion was deemed safe to use after several hospitals examined the side effects but was recommended to not exceed the duration limit of three minutes and wait between one to ten minutes based on the amount consumed.

With these potions being made and distributed from Planeptune, Lastation had also begun their own medical research. However due to their stricter rules, most of their doctors were not quite as experienced when it came to making these specialised potions. As much as it hurt Noire's pride, she was recommended by the development team to ask for Planeptune's help. Of course, she could just have some people act as guinea pigs for their tests, but the potential side effects theirs' could create was too much of a risk in both Noire's and the development team's opinion.

Meanwhile, HD Blanc and both Verts had also requested for a potion that could keep them up for several days, however was promptly rejected by Neptune, telling them to just drink more coffee or something and a potion like that was sure to cause terrible side effects.

The situation was just about the same in Ultradimension. UD Histoire asked for a potion that would stop Plutia from sleeping so much as well, but was told to just somehow mix caffeine into her drinks or something. As for Peashy, her wish of turning into an adult still hadn't come true as it was extremely difficult to find the right ingredients and mixture.

* * *

" _Gaaah! Just how many of these are people going to order!? We are running low on resources too! I'm going to need to tell them and go find more."_ Neptune was stressing out at all the orders. they were mostly the slow-mo potion that were being ordered by all the guild agents. _"You know what? I'm just going to give them to the guild in bulks and they can sell them instead."_ She got up to take a stretch and she could hear loud cracking noises from all over her body as she was doing so _._

" _Neptune! I brought tea and some snacks."_ Nepgear entered the lab with a tray of tea and a few cups of puddings.

" _Thanks Nep jr. How's everyone else doing."_ Neptune asked. She hadn't left her lab for several days, save for toilet and meals. With the constant orders, it was basically impossible for her to do anything else. There were even dark circles under her eyes.

For basically everyone else, seeing Neptune work so hard was both amazing and concerning.

" _Oh, nothing much. Uzume left earlier to go visit Plutia's dimension, Croire's strangely curious about your work, And Noire brought some puddings as well. She's concerned that you are working too much."_

" _That's ironic, Noire being concerned about me overworking. But I suppose, I should thank her for the puddings later. And Uzume could have visited to say bye at least, now I feel bad for not talking to her before she left."_

" _Oh, don't feel bad Neptune, Uzume didn't want to disturb you while you were working so hard. And Noire isn't the only one concerned, I'm concerned too and so is Histoire. Seeing you work like this, just isn't like you."_

" _Don't worry my dear sister. I'm running low on ingredients, so I'm going to use this chance to change how these potions are going to be handed out and hopefully get to relax a bit."_

" _Oh, Ok!"_

" _Oh, and by the way Nep jr, could you fix this little arm over here? I ended up hitting it a few times while moving around and I think it broke."_

Nepgear's eyes lit up at the chance to look at those overly sophisticated ( _for what it actually does_ ) looking machines.

" _Yes! Gladly!"_

" _Oh yeah. How are our shares doing? Haven't had one of Histy's Lectures in a while."_

" _Uzume and I have been doing some quests and it seems we got some shares from all the potions that you have been handing out."_

" _Ooooh, cool."_

" _Hey little me! You should take a break. Let's play some games together!"_ Adult Neptune hopped into the lab while yelling.

" _Oh, hey big me. After this batch is done I will. This is the last batch."_

" _Oh yea, Crosty's been asking when you are going to make that potion."_

" _That potion? Oh, that… Wait, did she tell you what I was going to make? Not that she would know."_

" _No but seems like she knows you are up to something. Did you tell her what you were going to make?"_

"No, not the one she's talking about. _"_ As Neptune answered, she reached for a flask and began pouring it into two shot glasses.

" _Here, try this. I finally got to make this while working on all those other things."_ Neptune handed the two shot glasses. One for Adult Neptune and another for Nepgear.

" _Hm? What's this?"_ Adult Neptune asked.

" _You'll see. Literally."_

The two drank the potion, however nothing was happening for the first few seconds.

" _Nothing's happe-Whoa! What the goodness!?"_

" _Wow! Everyone is naked. Must say, you both have very cute bods now that I look at it. I mean I already knew about Nepgear's since Zero dimension, but little me, you got that cute and innocent look."_ Adult Neptune gave a wink at Neptune, who could not be more smug. Meanwhile, Nepgear quickly tried to cover her eyes, but like her older sister, still had a bit of a naughty side and was looking at both Neptunes between her fingers.

" _You betcha I do! And the potion was a success!"_

" _Please don't tell me you are going to ship that."_ Nepgear was blushing as red as a tomato.

" _Oh, don't worry Nep jr. This one is for personal use."_

" _I don't see any point in using these!"_

" _But you are enjoying the view right now aren't you?"_ Neptune said it in a playful tone as she tried to make a sexy pose, with adult Neptune supporting her smaller version by putting her arms around CPU Neptune's chest all the while having one of CPU Neptune's around her's.

Nepgear could only make a _"Haaa"_ sound and couldn't really deny. She normally wouldn't be this embarrassed, but this potion had completely caught her off guard. As a result, she was unable to make any logical argument in her panicked state.

" _Hey, when are you going to make your secret potion?"_ Croire asked, surprising adult Neptune.

" _Ooooh! Little me, you are making some kind of secret potion?"_

" _I never got the time to make it yet, but once I change how this potion is going to be shipped, I should have some time."_

" _What kind of potion is it? You can tell us."_ Adult Neptune said with excitement, while Nepgear stood still, a little concerned as to what that potion may entail and still trying to cover her face up.

" _Not telling. It's a secret for a reason. Don't worry, you'll know when I use it. It's going to get noisy though, so get ready for that."_

" _That sounds really worrying. By the way Neptune, how long does this (x-ray vision) last?"_

" _Oh, from the amount you drank, it should last for another 5 minutes."_

Nepgear tried to cover her face even more, finally covering her eyes.

" _Neptune?"_ Histoire floated into the room, stopping just in front of the doorway.

" _Yeah? What's up Histy?"_

" _Oh, I've just come to tell you to take a break, but I see those two have already said it. As lovely as it is to see you working hard, to see you working with almost no breaks for 5 days now, worries everyone. Everyone knows you are not the type to work this hard."_

" _I'm beginning to sound like a broken record. Histy, Blah blah yada yada."_

" _I see, very well. By the way, why is the big Neptune staring at me like that?"_

Adult Neptune was inspecting Histoire with a devious smile.

" _Oh my Histy, your bod is like a cute doll."_

" _M-my body?"_ Slightly embarrassed, Histoire tried to cover her body with her arms and legs. Turning towards Neptune, she asked.

" _Neptune, what is going on?"_

" _Ah. I made this potion. It allows the person to see through any thin material like clothes. But it stops at skin so… To both Nep jr and big me, everyone looks naked, and some other things will also be seen through."_

" _Why did you make such a potion?"_

" _For fun, and for personal uses."_ Neptune grinned.

Histoire sighed. _"Anyway, I have planned something for you Neptune. It's to help you relax."_

" _Ooooh! What is it? Pudding bath?"_

" _No. A new hot spring in Lowee opened up a few days ago, so I have booked a day. I told Uzume to come along, but she said she will go when everyone is together. And just like she said, Noire and Uni are too busy with her recent medical development. As for Vert, she said an event is coming up for her game. Blanc, Rom and Ram however, will be joining you for this trip."_

" _Aw thanks histy!"_ Neptune ran over and hugged Histoire for the very rare present from Histoire.

* * *

 **A/N: This is the end of the main story. The whole story is based on the Dr. Nepper side event from VII and I remember reading somewhere that a prototype Nepbull was made by Neptune which Nepgear used as template to make the Nepbull we know. Also there was the whole sisters making Nepbull EX together. So I wanted to expand more on that, while also expanding a little on the main four CPUs and their history.**

 **I already have in mind what kind of potion this 'secret' potion is and I also have some scenarios in my mind, some relating to said potion and others that aren't related. So, I may write some small stories that takes place after this one and add them here. Unfortunately, my classes have started so it may take some time to write them up.**

 **Feedback would be very much be appreciated. Thank you for reading.**


	15. Chapter 15 - Bonus Chapter 1

**After a LOOOOOOONG time of distraction and demotivation, I have finally managed to finish writing the bonus story. I must admit, after thinking about how the story should progress, a lot of what I had in mind couldn't happen in the way I imagined. However, the overall progression didn't change too much.**

Half a year had passed since Neptune restarted in potion crafting and she was alone in her lab. Histoire was busy with her work elsewhere in the basilicom. As for Nepgear, Uzume and adult Neptune, they were out doing quests and having fun going around playing arcade games. Nepgear was a bit disappointed that Neptune didn't get to be with them, but remembered Neptune saying that she was busy making a the secret potion with a smile.

Looking at said Neptune…

" _Finally, my special potion is done!"_ Neptune cheered. She stretched her arms and legs as she had been in one pose for hours. She had just finished making the first successful sample of the secret potion.

She looked at the clock, it was three in the afternoon. It was snack time and Neptune was hungry, so she left for the kitchen fridge. However, on her way, she met Histoire in the hallway. Turns out, Histoire was actually on her way to the lab to talk to Neptune.

" _Ah yes, Neptune. I see you have been busy in the lab again."_

" _Yep. Just got done making a new one."_

" _I see. That is very nice, however I've come to tell you that you have to do your job as a CPU."_

" _Ah… Haven't heard that in a while."_

" _It is good to see you working so hard, however you are a CPU, not a chemist. And since you have changed the ways you distribute all the potions, you should have enough time to do some other work."_

" _Yeah, I get it, but…"_

" _Do not worry. To give you time for your works in the lab, I won't tell you to go do too many quests. Here are all the quests you will need to do."_ Histoire showed a list showing up to fifteen quests.

" _Aw. I was just about to go take a few days of rest…"_

" _You can take those after doing all of these quests. They will need to be done within the next four days. You are lucky to have others you know. The rest are being taken care of by Uzume, Nepgear and the other you."_

Neptune was disappointed her two-day break that she had planned on getting since the beginning of the month was just about to be lost. With how busy she had been with all the potions being ordered, this was going to be her first break in two months. The most she had been getting was about three to four hours of free time once every two to three days, depending on the amount of orders. And those times were mostly used going out to get some fresh air. Of course, this was mostly because she was busy trying to make the secret potion.

" _Now, I still have more work to do so I'll be on my way."_ Histoire flew off to her room, leaving Neptune alone.

Neptune was not going to lose her long-awaited break. Thinking of a way to have the break, she remembered the potion she had just made. _"Ah!"_ Neptune then immediately took out her Ngear to Noire.

* * *

" _So, what is it you want to talk about?"_ Noire had arrived not long after the call, which surprised Neptune at how fast Noire arrived. Was she already in Planeptune? Why? Who knows, it didn't matter. Both Neptune and Noire were in the living room.

" _Well, I wanted to ask, are you free tomorrow and the day after?"_

" _Yeah, I guess. There's nothing really planned, although I might need to see how the new development team is doing with their work."_

" _Hmm… Ok."_

" _Why? Is there something you want to do? Why not ask Nepgear or Uzume?"_

" _No, no. It's nothing. Hey, want a drink?"_

" _Sure. I just finished the quests for the day so I am a little thirsty."_

Neptune left for the fridge with Noire following right behind. However, while Noire couldn't see, Neptune was grinning.

Upon arriving, Noire waited at the table while Neptune looked through the fridge. As Neptune looked through the fridge to find a suitable drink, Neptune began talking.

 _"Anyway, I asked because I need help."_ As she finished her sentence, she picked a bottle of soft drink and brought out two cups and began pouring.

 _"Help? What do you need help for? and why me?" While Noire asked, Neptune silently pour a bit of the new potion she had made in both the cups._

Neptune replied as she slowly brought over the cups.

 _"Well, I've been meaning to take a break after being so busy, and I thought you would be the best for the task._ _Here."_

Neptune handed one of the cups to Noire, then took a seat next to Noire. Noire looked at the drink slightly disappointed that it was not tea but a soft drink. Nonetheless, she accepted the drink as she was thirsty and it was a drink given to her. After looking at the drink for a second, Noire then took a big swig of it, with Neptune doing the same. As Noire was drinking, she looked at Neptune, wondering what 'the task' was.

" _Haa… So, what am I me-"_ Noire suddenly felt weird. She was feeling hot, uncomfortable and started feeling pain all over. She took a glance at Neptune thinking she had something to do with it, but saw Neptune reacting the same as well. While struggling, Neptune continued on.

" _You okay Noire?"_ Neptune hugged Noire to keep her from falling off the chair. Doing so, Noire's view was completely blocked by Neptune's face.

" _N-Neptune…"_ Noire has fainted.

* * *

" _Ugh.. What happened?"_ Noire wondered as she regained consciousness. Her eyes were still shut as they felt heavy, but she could tell that she was lying on a bed. Trying to get herself up, she began squirming on the bed. That was until she heard a voice.

" _Ah, Neptune you are awake. Good afternoon."_ Noire wondered for a second. The voice sounded very familiar. The voice then continued on.

" _I don't know how long you were sleeping for, but with how busy you have been, you must be very tired."_

" _Ah, that's right._ " Noire realised who's voice it was, it was Nepgear's. Using all the strength her one-tenth awake self could muster, Noire replied.

" _Hey Nepgear. Hey Neptune, what happened."_ Noire asked as she sat up, however there was no reply from Neptune.

" _Eh? What are you saying, Neptune?"_

" _Huh?"_ Slowly realising that Nepgear was talking to her, Noire opened her eyes to find Nepgear sitting in front of her table. Noire could tell it was hers with all the gadgets on it, meanwhile Neptune's was surprisingly clean. Clean as in, there was nothing on the table.

" _Are you ok? You can go back to sleep if you want."_

" _No, it's o-"_ Noire realised somethings were off. First, her voice. It was different to hers, yet it sounded familiar. Secondly, touching her head, she realised her hair was short and lastly, her chest was flat! With all these three pieces together and the fact that Nepgear was talking to her, the answer was obvious.

" _AHHHHH!"_ Noire screamed, realising that she was physically Neptune!

" _W-what's wrong!?"_ Nepgear quickly ran to Noire's side.

" _W-w-what is this!? I've become Neptune!?"_

" _Huh?"_

Uzume ran into the room.

" _What's wrong!?"_

Hearing Neptune's (Noire's) scream, Uzume had dashed as fast as she could from the living room.

The screams and panic had continued on for another five minutes before things finally calmed down.

" _Have you calmed down now?"_ Uzume asked.

" _Neptune. What do you mean you have become yourself? I don't understand what you mean."_

After taking multiple deep breaths, Noire finally replied.

" _I'm not Neptune, I'm Noire."_

" _Eh!?"_ Both Nepgear and Uzume said in unison.

" _Come on Neptsy, you don't need to joke like that just after waking up. Let's go play some games."_ Uzume tried to play it off.

" _I'm not joking! I really am Noire!"_ Noire understood that just saying it won't change anything. So, instead of just saying the same thing over and over, Noire decided to contact Neptune if that it possible. Upon taking out her Ngear, Noire immediately realised that the Ngear was hers. This was great! She could just show the two this Ngea—Noire stopped. She remembered that her Ngear contained all her cosplay photos. After pondering for a second, she decided to show her Ngear to the two in front of her but was EXETREMELY careful as to not show any of her photos by accident. Unfortunately, focusing on not showing her photos, had caused Noire to forget about contacting Neptune.

" _Huh. So, it's really you Noire?"_ Nepgear asked. Noire successfully managed to prove that it was her.

" _Yeah."_

" _How did this happen?"_ Uzume asked.

" _I don't know. Neptune told me to come over and asked me for help. Then she gave me a drink."_ Hearing Noire's explanation, both Uzume and Nepgear began to understand that Neptune was the cause of this.

" _Neptune must have done something to the drink."_ Nepgear sighed, slightly embarrassed at what Neptune had done. However, Noire replied.

" _I'm not sure. After I drank it, my body felt weird, and when I looked at Neptune, she looked like she was feeling the same thing I was."_ Listening to that, now the two Planeptune CPUs were once again, confused.

" _But if that was the case, shouldn't both you and Neptsy be here?"_ Uzume questioned. If both of them are affected, Neptune should have also been sleeping.

" _Well, I think lost consciousness before Neptune, so I don't really know."_

The three tried to think of an answer, however could not get any. Noire then decided to solve this mystery one step at a time.

 _"Hey, did either of you see two cups on the dining table?"_

 _"I don't remember, I just kind of went straight for the fridge for a drink after we returned and didn't pay any attention."_ Uzume replied.

 _"I never went to the kitchen. I came into the room to unpack some the things I bought and found you sleeping. I decided to wait here for you- I mean for Neptune to take up."_

"I see... _Let's go to the kitchen and look for clues. The drinks weren't finished, and I doubt Histoire would have just cleaned them without asking."_ In truth, this was just a hopeful thinking. With everything that had happened, she could not rule out the possibility that Neptune might have cleaned them up while she was unconscious.

" _By the way, what's the time and how long have I been asleep for?"_ Even though it was still fairly bright outside, Noire asked just in case she needed to call Uni.

" _Huh? It's nearly five. We just got back about thirty minutes ago and by the time we got here, you were already sleeping on the bed."_

" _Right, when I was talking to Neptune, it was around three forty…"_ The group continued discussing what might have happened as they left for the kitchen.

* * *

The group sighed.

" _I knew it…"_ The cups were in the sink and had been rinsed.

Just as the group let out another sigh, Histoire entered the scene.

" _What is wrong everyone? Are you all hungry?"_

" _Histoire! Did you see anyone clean the cups?"_ Nepgear asked.

"The cups? _No, I have not seen anyone clean them either. Ah, but I did see Noire earlier putting Neptune to bed. You should thank her for that Neptune. Anyway, I greeted her but she said she had to go and left. But it was a bit strange."_

The group immediately understood the situation now, but they were also curious as to what Histoire meant by 'strange'.

" _What do you mean strange?"_ This time, it was Uzume who asked.

" _Well, she seemed like she was in a hurry and somehow overly cheery compared to normal."_

The three nodded to each other.

" _Thanks, Histoire, we'll be going now."_ Nepgear replied but was then stopped by Histoire.

" _I don't know where you are all planning on going, but we need to prepare dinner and Neptune, there are new orders for the potions."_ Saying that, Histoire left, completely unaware of what was going on.

The three stood silent for a moment before Nepgear began to talk.

"W _hat do we do? I don't think we can leave now."_

 _"Why not? We can just go tell Histoire what happened."_

 _"No, I think Neptune did this so she can take her break without Histoire noticing."_

 _"Ah. Well then, why didn't she just tell me?"_

 _"Maybe she thought that you would refuse if you knew."_

 _"Do I look like someone who doesn't help?"_

 _"I think it's because she views you as a workaholic."_ Nepgear then clapped her hands to drop the topic.

"Anyway, _I better go get dinner prepared, would you anything in particular?"_ Nepgear asked Noire.

" _I don't mind, anything's fine. What about you Uzume, what are you going to do?"_

" _I might tell big Neptsy about this. She said she was coming late so filling her in should save some time and confusion."_

" _Ok. I'm going to go call Neptune. She shouldn't have arrived at Lastation just yet. And honestly, who knows what she's planning. She might have gone somewhere else entirely."_ Noire began walking to find a quiet place (i.e. Not the kitchen or the living room), until she remembered what Histoire said about the new orders for the potions. She knew that Neptune and Histoire kept all the information regarding the potions themselves fairly tight lipped but she was 'Neptune' right now!

" _Hey Nepgear, where do you go to see the new orders?"_

" _Huh? Oh, they should be on Neptune's computer in our office."_ Nepgear understood why Noire asked but did not mind as she knew all the information on Neptune's computer was nothing confidential, at least according to Neptune.

" _Ok, thanks."_ Noire then immediately changed her destination to the office. Meanwhile, Nepgear was busy looking around for ingredients for dinner. As for Uzume, she was waiting for adult Neptune to answer her call.


End file.
